Self Void
by lunat1
Summary: They never had the time for themselves. All they were concerned about was saving Terca Lumireis. Now that peace had returned, there were times when they could embark on new journeys - the most important one was to find themselves. Will be FlynnxYuri
1. Prologue The Original Trio

**lunat1's note:**

**updated 22/02/2011 - to fix line breaks and a few errors and mis-pronounciation I noticed (probably not all though)  
**

**This will eventually be FlynnxYuri - just in case you did not notice it in the summary. Rated T for occassional swearing, adult themes, may be rated M in later chapters**

* * *

Repede had always been with Yuri Lowell for as long as he could remember. He could bark with confident affirmation if he was ever asked whether Yuri was his most favourite human.

Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo actually – them both.

If he had to choose, though, Flynn had to come second. Repede had been with the two young men ever since they were but little boys, and himself as a puppy. After being left to fend for himself by his previous master – for whatever reason he could no longer remember vividly – the boys had been taking care of him, and even considered him as a friend who stood at the same status as their fellow human friends – regardless of his canine breed.

Even during their days in the Imperial Knights, Yuri & Flynn would always come down to the lower quarter to play with Repede whenever they had free time and could get away from their knights quarter in the palace.

When he got a few years older - not a little mutt anymore – and just not that interested in obediently played sit, shake, and roll for the boys amusement for some dog snacks; he would laze under the shades of one of many run down shelters in the lower quarters, and just watched the boys practiced their swordplay against each other.

He noted that Flynn had always been a tiny bit better than Yuri in his sword fighting techniques. Maybe because the dark haired boy was always more aggressive in his swordplay - all offense and hardly defense. Whereas Flynn was always more calculating in his moves.

Repede would smirk – however a dog's smirk would look like – whenever Flynn pointed his sword towards Yuri's neck at every end of battle for the 14th times for the day and Yuri just shot daggers at his blond friend – exasperated.

Those peaceful days was his favourite past time

There were also his other favourite times – some days, Yuri would come to the lower quarter and brought Repede for a walk without Flynn by his side. Yuri would take Repede to the near outskirts of Zaphias, just barely outside the barrier. This tiny patch of greens was located just outside the noble quarters, a bit of extension of the quarter's many parks, but not protected by the safety of the barrier. They would sneak around the noble's houses and reach this little slice of haven

There were hardly any monster roaming around - even when there were, they were nothing Yuri and Repede could not handle. The ones that were unlucky to share the haven with them were usually young and inexperienced beasts – whose lives were cut short by the duo whenever they were sighted. The wild and stronger beasts usually tended to roam a few miles away from the barrier limits. The beasts knew better than to stay too close to the town protected and patrolled regularly by the Imperial Knights.

There were no annoying nobles as well, since those snobs hardly ever went near the very limit of the barrier, preferring to stay in their lavish houses or chatter about closer to where the guards were stationed for their safety. These were the days Repede got to spend with Yuri alone, just staring at the sky underneath a tree and occasionally hacked away at the incoming beasts. Yuri always treated Repede as his equal fighting partner and practiced with him whenever he thought he could invent a new finishing move – as basic as it was. Yuri seemed to connect to him regardless of their lack of verbal conversations.

Whenever there were verbal conversations – mainly from Yuri's part - Repede would listen intently, perking his ears and tried to capture whatever emotions flowed through the words coming out of his lips.

Lately he could sense that Yuri was upset about whatever had been happening inside the mighty gates of Zaphias castle, amongst the Imperial knights and the nobles.

From what he could gather, Repede knew Yuri would leave the Imperial Knights, that he was getting sick of the twisted sense of justice and corruptions amongst the higher-ups, the lieutenants, and even some of the captains.

Repede understood that recently Yuri had been constantly getting into arguments with Flynn for this very reason.

Repede understood very well though, regardless what Flynn would say, Yuri had made up his mind.

Repede could only plant his head on Yuri's lap and whine softly in approval. There was hardly any moment he felt like getting that close to the youth, but he could sense that there were a lot of mixed emotions and inward battle Yuri was undergoing. And he felt that his closeness to the boy would help in some way.

Repede could make out the last few words Yuri exhaled,

"….. Thanks, Repede"

And he was content with his master's – friend's peace of mind.

* * *

Flynn Scifo had never felt like punching the lights out of his friend before.

"We promised that we would uphold justice together!"

Yuri rolled his eyes, albeit uncomfortably. He had never felt at ease with the way Flynn gritted his teeth while speaking – whenever the blond teen was angry.

"… and is that what we are doing now, Flynn? You saw what I saw, and you know this sorry excuse of the Imperial Knights won't make anything better", he snorted. He was just about finished packing up whatever left of his personal belongings, leaving his knight uniform scattered his allocated bed in his knight's quarter. He was going to leave without pleasant handshake with his _soon-to-be-ex-superiors_ anyway, why bother tidying up?

"It will change," Flynn persuaded further, "That's the whole point we joined the knights! We need to … - _no_ - We _will_ change it "

"Honestly, before we could ever change anything, I am afraid I would kill someone already." Yuri waved his hands casually; his tone clearly signified that he was getting tired of this pointless charade of words exchange.

Flynn winced slightly as he realized that there was some truth in his friend's last sentence. Yuri was a black-or-white kind of person. What he learnt of his friend of all the years they had been together was that Yuri always acted on his first train of thoughts, without even considering the negative outcome that impulsive decision of his might cause; without even considering the harm he would cause himself.

Somehow, Flynn could not bear to let his mind linger on that last thought.

"Flynn, even if we take different paths…," Yuri sighed," even if we use different methods, we will make people smile. That is our goal, isn't it? It doesn't matter then whether I am in the Imperial Knights or not"

"…"

"You will not change your mind?,"

It was more of a confirmation than a question. Albeit a bit hurt - though Flynn would not admit it - he could not comprehend why Yuri would take a different path, away from their 'togetherness'. But it seemed that this was going to be his lost cause after all.

Yuri just shrugged.

Another pang of pain hit Flynn inwardly. He wished he could be as easygoing as Yuri, who was now sitting on his bed, crossing his legs lazily, still waiting if Flynn would say any more to irate him.

How could Yuri make such decision with such ease? If they were together, he would always be able to cover for Yuri – he was always the better fighter after all, and better person in choosing diplomatic words should the situation required.

He let out another exasperated sigh,

"I will walk you to the gates"

Yuri beamed up at his friend. It was not so hard after all. He felt bad, sure, but it's not like he was going to somewhere far away. He would still live at the lower quarters, protecting its residents at close counter – at least he would be sure he would settle things his own way whenever he saw something unjust – not waiting for some court order which would turn out to be in favor of the riches anyway.

And whenever he felt like seeing Flynn, he could just sneak up to the knights' quarter again.

With his small bundle of belongings slung over his shoulders and Flynn towing after him, they walked towards the castle gates. It had been quiet in the quarters – only a few maids and off duty guards. The rest of the knights were in practice session –one which Flynn was supposed to be in as well – if not for a more important matter, such as Yuri deserting the knights.

At the top of the stairs, just outside the castle' door, Repede was waiting and straightened up at the sight of the two young men.

Yuri smiled and had just started walking towards his canine friend when he noticed Repede suddenly perked his ears up . With that, he could also feel the fast wind and the sound of blade swinging from behind him.

It was just in time that Yuri docked under the incoming blow from Flynn, milliseconds away from getting knocked out.

His heart was still thumping furiously as he glared at his friend, who was now sheathing his blade calmly

"Is this your idea of a farewell? Farewelling me indefinitely?"

Flynn smiled sarcastically, if he could call that a smile. He was still bitter about Yuri's departure from the knights,

"I knew you'd be able to dodge it"

"Ha – ha!," Yuri fumed.

The next second Yuri gained his composure back, he suddenly realized that Repede had sat himself between where Yuri and Flynn were standing. The dog's eyes, although seemed to be at ease, looked up warily at Flynn. Flynn smiled and reached down to pat him, at which Repede wagged his tails briefly.

"Besides Repede would not let me cut your single strand of hair, let alone hurt you," Flynn chuckled.

He knew Repede was always fast, as fast as actually being able to leap in a blink of an eye to reach his spot at the second he swung that blade at Yuri. Flynn brought his head down to Repede's and buried his face onto his fur, seemed to be talking directly to his ears. Repede licked his face in response

"Oy, enough with the touchy feely," Yuri blinked, pretended to be disgusted with the way his two best friends were acting, "We are only going to the lower quarters anyway and will still be seeing you lots"

Flynn let go of Repede and stood up, forcing a smile at Yuri,

"Be seeing you around then."

"Yeah, for better or for worse," Yuri chuckled, as he walked away from his blond friend, with Repede in tow.

Repede threw a glance one last time at Flynn, who muttered something sounded like,"Please, Repede?"

Flynn looked at the silhouette of his friend's back as Yuri walked further away from him, disappearing in the midst of nobles scattered about around the castle, and towards the stairs leading to the middle quarters - finally lost from his sight.

Repede somehow knew that Flynn was just testing Yuri when he swung that blade – for whatever reason. Maybe the blond teen was just making sure to keep Yuri's instinct sharp. At least he would be able to protect himself then. Repede had never had any doubt of Yuri's ability to defend himself - or fighting in that case. The youth's wild instincts always made him a good and agile fighter, albeit of his reckless impulse. Repede knew this was why Yuri kept losing to Flynn and that Flynn always looked out for his friend.

Repede knew he need to keep an eye on Yuri from then on that it was going to be just the two of them.

Until he found someone he deemed worthy to be by Yuri's side. As strong, or even better – stronger than him.

Until he found someone he deemed worthy of Yuri's trust.

Someone who would take Flynn's place to stay by Yuri's side.

_Look after Yuri for me, Repede _

Those were Flynn's words as he whispered to his ears, wary and full of concern, as trusting as he is in his canine friend.

And Repede planned on doing just that.

* * *

**Regardless how the story started, this is not going to be a story solely from Repede's POV. I just want to give him the opening line, since I love Repede**


	2. Chapter 1 Getting By

**lunat1's note:**

**Thank you for the people who have spent their valuable time to leave some reviews on my fic. Reviews and critics make an author grow :D It is hard to recognize own's mistake until someone else point it out. As I went back and read my story again, I was like 'hell, this is not fit yet to be published _' But I promise I'll be better _*clench fists*_**

**Now, let the spoilers galore begin. I have to warn you that this story contains various outcomes & recalls from side quests and events in the game, so if you missed or have not done them yet, you may not understand what I am writing about.**

**In regards to Flynn's request to Repede mentioned in prologue chapter; it was also said in the game, so that request came from his own's mouth and not out of his character. I still think the level and importance of relationship between Flynn & Yuri is way above Yuri & Estelle, whatever the relationship is. Flynn always worries about Yuri, and it was shown throughout the game.**

* * *

Yuri was bored out of his wits. He constantly casted his glance at the mosaic ornamented window from where he was sitting, trying to catch a sight of something interesting flying in the sky… such as Ba'ul, for instance. Though he knew that would be impossible, since Ba'ul and Judith were stationed at Dahngrest at the time, assisting Karol with whatever he needed to get done as the guild boss of Brave Vesperia.

It was a futile attempt trying to see through the heavily frosted glass anyway.

He looked down at Repede who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. How many hours had they been waiting in this office? 4… 5? He lost count.

It felt kind of dark and lonely in this big office. Sure, its size served its purpose in early times, when it used to be Belius' main lair in Nordopolica. But when the Entelexia had gone, Yuri always thought that this huge of a space - separated from the town centre and the noise from the coliseum - became a bit suffocating for him.

He wondered how it felt to Natz, especially when he was alone. Would it not remind him of Belius more?

Yuri was just stretching his legs, when the huge door creaked open and the subject of his last thought stride in.

"Yuri.", the buffy guy nodded at him with acknowledgment. Yuri waved back casually,

"Yo!"

"Thanks for your help…," Natz walked in direction of the huge chair stationed just across Yuri, behind the big desk.

Heck, everything in this room seemed huge.

"… could not have done it without you. Most of Palestralle's members were with me to escort those merchants across Weasand of Cados."

Yuri was in Nordopolica on a guild task. Given their reputation and their encounters with Natz in the past, Brave Vesperia was asked personally by the now-duce of Pallestralle to help him defending Nordopolica whilst he was away. The peace they have brought upon Terca Lumieres, though good and all, resulted in a certain consequence - one which all people have to live with: _no_ more blastia.

The loss of the blastia, and barrier blastias for that matter; means the mighty men of the city had to fend for the city's whole safety – which was usually nothing out of their league anyway – Pallestralle being one of the strongest independent guilds there was. When most of the men were away though, that was when Brave Vesperia had to set sail all the way from Dahngrest. Natz always preferred Brave Vesperia's helping hand than the Imperial Knights - however improved the relationships between them - he still could not get rid of the sour aftertaste that kept reminding him the fact that Belius died because of a certain ex-commandant of the Imperial Knights.

Well actually, Brave Vesperia was given two choices, escorting the merchants across the Weasand of Cados, or to be stationed at Nordopolica and defending it from incoming stray monsters whenever they appeared.

Yuri chose the latter. It would be better to stay in Nordopolica, after all it had the all mighty coliseum to keep him from boredom. Or so he thought, he ended up getting bored every time he finished his guard duty since he could not even enter the coliseum afterall for some stupid reason.

A stupid reason he needed to comply with nevertheless.

He managed to convince Karol that he and Repede were all Nordopolica would need as bodyguards. Karol was a bit skeptical at first, but he was finally convinced in the end. He knew for a fact that Yuri was the best physical combatant in their group.

"Nah, that's OK," Yuri grinned, glad that Natz was finally back. At least there was someone to make conversation with – apart from Repede , not that Repede would talk back at him,

"We rely on your occasional requests to keep the food on our table, you know. Your business also means we can splurge on new weapons we need."

It was true. Being as rich as Nordopolica was from its colliseum's revenues, Natz' jobs were always of the highest paying ones. And it certainly helped Brave Vesperia surviving monetarily.

Natz took out a pouch from his drawer containing gald - Yuri presumed -, put it on the desk and finally got to observe his guest closely.

"I never know white is your color," Natz eyed Yuri and chuckled, "Not the wisest choice to wear when you were due for some hack and slash actions, Mr. Lowell."

Yuri grimaced. This was the very reason he could not enter the coliseum.

Because he was wearing a white shirt.

Because a certain pink haired princess swore under her bated breath that he had to wear some _other_ clothes apart from the usual black shirt & vest combo he always wore, _or else_.

It was a mistake to take the long route and direct the Fierta to stop by Zaphias before going to Nordopolica. Not only Flynn was away on his knightly duty, he had to face Estelle and her obsessive compulsive disorder in neat and clean appearance.

But the gods knew why she had to choose white for him to wear; especially even after he told her he would go on a monster killing spree mission.

What kind of mercenary would wear white clothing and enter the battles without spoiling it? The cheering squad? Sure Estelle could pull it off during their past adventures, but that was because she was a mage - hardly a close counter fighter. She was always positioned a safe distance away from the battlefront, where blood and gore constantly splashed over the physical combatants, which experiences Yuri enjoyed thoroughly.

But Estelle would not have any of his protests. She went as far as asking the Empire's personal tailor to whip up a glamour white long sleeved shirt, embellished with gold threads around its collar line, and bearing the imperial crest sewed painstakingly in elegant colors on its chest – fit for a prince. She also gave him a matching pair of light grey pants, bearing the same gold threads around the ankles and which was so suspiciously soft, Yuri swore it was made of the finest of silk. Yuri was so horrified at the thought of wearing the pants, he threatened her that the only way to make him wore that pants was to strip him down by force. Finally she gave up and managed to get her part of the bargain - the shirt at least need to be on him.

Estelle saw Yuri off sailing on the Fiertia from the beach outskirts - only if to make sure Yuri would not purchase some other clothing at Zaphias market - the shirt fully buttoned to his neck and all, suffocating him.

If Flynn saw him in that attire, he was not so sure whether Flynn would appraise him or pass out laughing.

Yuri unbuttoned the collars down to his chest line as soon as he was aboard and the sail was lifted, much to Estelle's dismay. If she could jump on the ship and fix him, he knew she would.

He was not a fan of the imperial crest embellishment, and was not so sorry when he arrived at Nordopolica and went head to head with a Death Mantis which viciously struck its antennae-like claws at him. It did not inflict any wound on Yuri's chest but managed to rip the clothing and practically destroyed the intricately sewed on crest. He was almost overjoyed if for the fact he suddenly remembered the wrath awaiting him should he make his next trip to Zaphias or Halure, the two spots Estelle often hung about.

Yuri did not do it on purpose; he figured he would just purchase another attire – more fitting for his mission and image for that matter – upon his arrival at Nordopolica. But when he arrived, Natz and his men had already left and the remaining on-duty Pallestralle guards were already at odds with some monsters. Yuri did not have time to go shopping. After all, his arrival was already a bit late due to the fact that he was cherried up by Estelle and all that waiting for the custom made shirt.

He figured he should not spoil the shirt any further though, thus he had been restraining himself from putting down his name at the registration desk for the 200-men-melee. Estelle would not be more impressed if she sighted further tree monster's saps or other participants' blood on her precious good-will-of-gesture that he was wearing now.

He did not like the consequences of making Estelle upset. The last time it happened was when they were still staying in Halure – mostly Yuri by himself since Estelle had to constantly go back to the castle for her princess duties, as much as she would like to stay in Halure and continued on her hobbies of reading and writing stories. The one time she decided to stay for quite some time in Halure, and seeing Yuri after a couple of months she had been away, she had much to scrutinize him.

That he had been wearing the same clothes over and over again.

That his hair was getting longer and his bangs were starting to get on her nerves since she could not see his eyes when she was speaking to him.

Yuri waved off the complaints. The next day he woke up, he found himself staring in the mirror, staring at his reflection in the mirror with gaping mouth. It fleeted across his mind that if there was ever any time he should scream like a girl, it would be that moment – his front locks had been cut – apparently in his sleep – albeit too short to his liking, and his long hair had been braided intricately into two sections.

When he confronted Estelle about it, she argued that at least she did not cut his long hair and emphasized at how much she was tempted and that she _should_ have done it. So she decided to make it tidier and even took the extra effort to adorn the braids with two very soft and pink colored hair bands made of the prized Cheagle Fur.

He knew then he need to commute to Dahngrest - fast.

Yuri shuddered as he recalled that piece of memory.

In Nordopolica and being not able to get into the Colliseum, the only thing cheering him up a bit was when he found out that Flynn was not listed as one of the supposed-to-be-opponents in the melee. At least he had not really missed anything - Flynn was always fun to challenge. Without him, melee was not the same. He felt a bit down though, that he missed the chance to see his commandant friend again.

Yuri wondered where Flynn was at the moment, it had been months since they last saw each other. Him being busy with guild tasks and stationed at Dahngrest; Zaphias and Aurnion being so far away. He detoured via Zaphias with a slight hope of seeing the blond man again, seeing Estelle was a bonus – which turned out to be his nightmare. He could not travel to Aurnion just to check whether Flynn was there, due to the fact he spent too much time lounging about in Zaphias playing dress-up dolls with Estelle – him being the doll.

Nevertheless, Yuri still itched for a real fight; he felt the calluses formed around the insides of his palms – so used to gripping various swords' hilts – were starting to disappear.

Yuri brushed his thought off. At least, after this, he would be free to go somewhere he wanted. Brave Vesperia could manage with him and Repede slacking off a bit, he assumed.

"I still have to find a good excuse for myself to a certain lollipop princess," Yuri muttered under his breath, clearly not looking forward to their next meeting.

Natz just raised his eyebrows, not quite catching what Yuri said.

"Well anyway, apart from spoiling your glittery attire, your excellency," Natz threw the gald pouch onto Yuri's direction, at which he managed to catch, "You should be happy with this payment"

Yuri glanced at the money he had in his hands now and grinned. He could tell that it was quite a substantial amount and his ever-money-concerned younger guild boss would be happy when he presented the bounty.

Yuri was just stepping out of the office, the door closing behind him; when he almost tripped over something blocking his way. He managed to catch his balance, swiftly tiptoed and finally saw the offensive object who stared back at him through its shiny eyes - lifeless but somehow smug in expression,

"Found you finally, Yuri Lowell! Jaaaaaarrrnnkkkk!"

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**I warned you didn't I? I hope at least some of you know what that jarnk-thing is.**


	3. Chapter 2 Being Krityan

**lunat1's note:**

**People, R&Rs are love. So please, review, support, criticize, whatever... you keep the gears in my brain rolling. :D _*bows*_**

* * *

Yuri stepped over the small tin-like mechanical object and continued down the long staircase, ignoring the creature's presence.

"Waiiiitt! _Jarrrnkkkk_!," came the voice from behind him, flustered and panicking, "Argh! Bad doggie! Put me down!"

He glanced over his shoulder and noticed that the object was now in Repede's mouth - dangling by its legs between the canine's teeth - who was trailing after him a few steps behind. He took a deep breath and exhaled,

"Repede, let go of Karolow X!"

Repede obediently loosened his jaw grip and the robot fell with a loud clank, rolling down the staircase until it hit one of the pillars supporting the building. After letting out a cursing groan, it got up and glared at its abusers.

Yuri bent down and calmly pat Repede's head,

"You should know better than to chew on metals. It's not good for your teeth."

Repede whined softy.

"S-shock!," Karolow X grumbled loudly with its monotone high-pitched voice and shook its head in apparent disgust ,"No respect at all, jarnk! If only I wasn't asked personally by Miss Judith…."

"Oh? Judy's here?,"

The dark-haired young man continued walking towards the tall door separating the long corridor and the coliseum's waiting room. He reached for the door latch and wondered if he would have seen Ba'ul flying in the sky earlier after all should he manage to see through the frosted windows in Natz' office.

As he stepped out with Repede, the heavy door closing behind him – almost crushing Karolow X in between – he finally sighted his Krityan friend, looking as fabulous as ever. Judith was leaning against the fence at the top of the stairs in the small space Pallestralle called the waiting room. Meanwhile, a guard who was stationed outside the door - finally managed to tear his lustful glance away from Judith - ,looked suspiciously at the small robot; wondering how in the world he could have missed the object passing through him into the forbidden area where the duce's office and Pallestralle's warehouse were located.

Yuri knew that Judith had a lot to do with distracting the poor guy though, and that she somehow managed to sneak Karolow X to check inside and look for him – whatever the reason was for.

He could hardly blame the man for letting his guard down: Judith was always a sight to behold – that moment particulary. She seemed to have especially dressed up for some occasion; she was wearing a purple plunging strapless cinched corset, the part covering her breasts seemed to be made of fur. Her long legs were wrapped with black shiny tights, combined with white high boots made of scaly dragon fossil. A short tunic – color matching her top – was adorned around her waist, serving as a short skirt, though slit at the sides.

With the way she crossed her hands across her chest, her fingers reaching other arm's elbow, and the way she slightly leaned forward all the while still having her back against the fence - her cleavage had clearly been the object of the guard's attention for quite some time.

And not just him – every male in the waiting room seemed to have their gazes fixed at one spot.

Yuri though, had already been too used to her presence to even consider her lustfully attractive. He actually wondered – even as attractive as the Krityan could be – if he had actually ever seen Judith in that light before.

"Hello, Yuri," Judith relaxed her seductive stance and smiled at him.

"Hi, Judy…", before he could continue any further, the voice of Karolow X butted in,

"Miss Judithhh! I managed to find Yuri after much hardship, _jarnk_, " Karolow X ran towards Judith and wrapped its mechanical arms around her legs, "I did it for you, _jarnk_. No matter what obstacles I had to face."

Judith averted her glance at Karolow X and noticed its armor-like body clearly covered in saliva from the earlier counter with Repede. She seemed to ponder a bit whether she should kick the robot off her legs. She decided otherwise and smiled at the robot,

"Well done, Karolow X, I knew you'd be able to do it," she smiled – seemed entirely grateful and sincere, but Yuri knew better –

"But I really think you should clean yourself. I don't like being hugged by dirty men… . There's plenty of sea water by the port for you to shine again, do you mind?"

Judith finished her sentence and flashed her best smile at Karolow X who was still clinging onto her white boots.

Karolow X nervously let go of its hold and looked up at her,

"U-understood, _jarrnkk_! I will clean myself at the port. I will look my best again for you, Miss Judith, _jarnnk_!"

With that, it ran and rolled – both combined – as fast as it could down the stairs, disappearing from their sights. Judith calmly took a towel from a bunch located on a corner table - clearly for constentants' use -, swiped the trail of saliva off her boots and tossed it away.

Yuri wondered if that was the very reason he could never fall for the Krityan; she had all normal males – made of flesh and blood or screws and bolts – wrapped around her fingers. Maybe he had just always known her too much since their first meeting in the tower of Ghasfarost. Or maybe, he was not normal.

Yuri shrugged and clicked his tongue - seemingly in pity,

"You conveniently forgot to remind Karolow X though, that salt water is supposedly bad for metals?"

He wondered what captain Karol would say the next time the boy saw his mini-me had actually rusted.

"Oh?," Judith looked surprised and brought her fingers on to her chin, seemingly thinking.

"I did not know that….," she paused and smiled ruefully, "How could I ever have known that sea water has a high concentration of salt content…"

Yuri smirked; there was no way he would ever fall for her. She was just simply too dangerous. He threw a quick glance around where they were standing and noticed that Judith's admirers were still looking at them, their expressions clearly showed that they were really keen to know what the relationship between Yuri and Judith was.

He decided that he should not pass on chances on poking fun at other people, though. With this thought, he wrapped his arms around the Krityan's waist and slightly drew her body to him. Judith acknowledged his actions - a thoughtful smile formed on her beautiful porcelain face - and wrapped her arms around the young man's waist as well and they proceeded to walk down the stairs together.

From behind them, they could hear loud gasps, grunts, groans, and some curses.

Repede yawned and followed them, exiting the coliseum.

As soon as they were outside, they looked at each other, finally let go, and chuckled. For once in weeks, Yuri felt really glad to have company of one of his close friends.

Judith drew a long and deep breath, inhaling the crisp cool air in the courtyard. It was usually warm in Nordopolica, being the closest city to the desert. However, at the time, the cool breeze from way south brought faint trace of winter. Yuri could see that Nordopolica's residents had already put on slightly thicker and more layered attires than they normally wore. For Yuri and Judith though, the temperature was ideal - if not still on the warmer note. Even the Blade Drifts of Zopheir was considered pleasant enough for them.

She brought a cone-shaped object to her ears and spoke softly. Yuri recognized that was Ba'ul Horn and that Judith was communicating with her Entelexia friend through it,

"Understood, Ba'ul... a couple of hours... that should be plenty of time. Please bring them safely here"

She put the horn inside a small pouch hidden beneath the tunic and looked at Yuri and finally at his tattered white shirt, smiling and apparently amused,

"That is... a very unusual attire you are wearing there..."

Yuri groaned, "Urgh... . Long story. It was Estelle..."

Judith cocked her head sideways, prompting him to continue,

"Recently she has been trying to ... I don't know... maybe she was just picking on me?," Yuri put his index finger on his temple and closed his eyes - thinking - he himself unsure why the princess recently had really taken the effort to make him look good by her standard - however incovenient her standards made him be,

"Even when we were still at Dahngrest, she constantly sent me things.."

"Oh?," Judith raised her eyebrows ,"You never told any of us before, even though we have been living in the same city..."

"It's nothing important to discuss anyway," Yuri cut in and waved his hand off, "The things she sent me are not stuffs I will wear in my own room, let alone in public."

Yuri then proceeded quickly and summarised, emphasizing the various things he had received from Estelle - uniforms; suits - mostly light colored - some dark ones he was so horrified of imagining himself in them, due to the heavy ornaments and embellishments on; leather gloves; leather shoes; various hats, brooches... . Heck, his True Knight uniform he received some long months ago from Flynn on Ioder's behalf would be considered commoner's garb compared to all those.

After a good few minutes finishing his long list of Estelle's gifts and his latest episode of his most recent encounter with Estelle in Zaphias, he exhaled,

"I wonder what has got into her. I asked her once why she suddenly put so much attention on my appearance... She never used to really mind when we all journeyed together...," Yuri paused, he kind of missing the adventures he had with his official and non-official guild members. Of course, Estelle was part of the memorable journey as well.

"... And? What did she say?" Judith leaned forward, still tilting her head, apparently curious to know more.

Yuri lightly scratched his head, "Well, I am not sure what she meant. She was a bit flustered when I asked her... She said it would make me look better in front of the royals and council members, also the little prince," Yuri shrugged, referring to Ioder, "Not like _I_ care anyway, why would I want to look better in front of those..."

Judith clapped her hands together, content with what she figured out at last.

Yuri blinked and stared at the Krityan who was now grinning from ear to ear,

"What?," he challenged her, a bit annoyed at his friend who seemed to have solved the mistery he had somehow involved himself in - himself still clueless.

Judith's grin gradually turned into a meaningful smile. She lifted her slender index finger and point it straight at his nose,

"You, Yuri. You are a heavy flirt... but you are incredibly dense!"

Yuri waved her fingers aside - increasingly annoyed - and was going to implore further when Judith turned her back and started walking towards the small cluster of huts erected along Nordopolica markets, all the while grabbing Yuri's hands and half-dragging him along. Nordopolica was never short of people and their market was always crowded, even in the slightly cooler weather. Various fish - Yuri noticed - were lined along the benches, some of the fresher ones were sill swimming in various plastic baskets for display - big and small. The vendor was busy servicing his customers who had already formed a line several metres away. It seemed that fish was always a popular delicacy in port towns.

"Anyway, you will have time to figure it out later," she stopped at a stand, thanking the stall lady who gave her a satchel she had earlier deposited for safe-keeping. Inside, were some of her spare clothes, or so he thought.

Yuri raised his eyebrows as Judith thoughtfully picked one of the garments, looked at him, threw the garment back into the satchel, and picked another one, looked at him again, and so forth. Finally, she let out a melodious and excited hum as she took out a set,

"We only have two hours at most to get ready," She dusted off the top she had picked - a part of the set she took out earlier - and hung it by her fingers in front of Yuri's chest. She nodded to herself, satisfied with her choice.

Yuri could feel the blood drained from his face as he slowly realized what Judith intended to do with him. He was just about to bolt when Judith quickly grabbed his arm and continued on, wary of his line of thought,

".. and don't run! This will be a crucial part of our incoming mission. I will explain the details when we get ready," she calmly spoke, her expression clearly showed she would be a force to reckon with if Yuri was to run from that spot,

"Karol, Rita, and Raven will come later. Ba'ul is fetching them"

Repede let out another yawn and followed them into the hut and towards a space seemingly made ready for Judith to use - Yuri still being dragged by Judith and still unsure whether he should still run from his impending fate.

* * *

Karolow X was kicking tiny peebles scattered around the port. He looked crestfallen, as disappointed as a robot could be. He was just about to jump into the sea earlier - intending to clean himself of the blasted dog's foul stench - when a fisherman grabbed his legs and curiously examined him, even went as far as trying to prode through his metal body. He wondered why getting dangled by the legs was becoming his fate that day. If only Professor Sicily had made him just a tad bigger...

The man muttered something about being able to get a fair amount of money for the strange metal object he found that day. The fisherman later left after chaining Karolow X' legs around one of the lamp poles at the port, intending to get him after his day of fishing was done. Though he could still move about, he was pretty much stuck there. He really hoped a certain beautiful Krityan would come and rescue him.

He kicked another pebble and the tiny rock skipped a few steps and rolled on the road ahead of him - then he sighted his object of affection walking towards him, the foul dog following her suit, and another person not far behind them, seemingly reluctant to walk further.

As he could see better the stranger following Judith & Repede closing in, he felt as if all lubricants had been drained off his gears - stopping all functions in his body. His marble pupils were dilated a few times larger than their original intended design and he could feel himself stammered and his lower jaw trembling,

"U-u-uber shock!"

-tbc

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**the small part of this chapter contained Karolow X' POV. In normal chapters, he is always referred as 'it', but I thought since it is his POV, he should refer himself as 'he'.**

**I do hope the chapters are not too long to your liking? I don't want you getting bored.. please let me know so I can decide what usually would be the appropriate length of a chapter - especially as tedious and descriptive as mine.**


	4. Chapter 3 Girl Talk

**lunat1's note:**

**For those of you wondering ... . I did say in the last chapter that Nordopolica _is_ the closest city to the desert. Mantaic on the other hand_, is_ a town *_frowns_*. Well at least I don't consider Mantaic a city anyway.**

**Now on to the next chapter...**

* * *

Estelle opened the door leading into her room, sighted her mage friend waiting by the window, ran and threw herself at the slightly flustered girl to embrace her.

Rita Mordio had never got used to be in such close contact with anyone; and even after all this time, she was still not accustomed to her best friend's knack in hugging her so comfortably every time they see each other. It was not like it had been months since they last saw each other, so why all the emotions?

On second thought - after nervously writhing herself free from Estelle's embrace - Rita recalled that it had actually been close to a month since she last saw her princess friend. The last time she paid a visit to the capital city was to supervise the installations of various new electrical and mechanical devices around the castle and the residential quarters. As one of the brightest minds around, she found that inventing new things was as exciting as studying blastias.

Rita dusted off her attire, looking annoyed at the sudden contact and also to hide her reddening cheek from Estelle's eyes. The teen mage was wearing an auburn happi coat, tied with a large band around the waist. Underneath the short yukata-like garment, she had black shirt and short tights on and a pair of black short stockings and industrial boots. Her Ivy Blade was tucked underneath the waistband – she should not be careless with all the travelling she had been doing after all – a weapon was always a must.

These days, those were as comfy as she could get without getting in the way with her line of work.

Estelle though – she noticed – looked as good as a vice-emperor could ever be. She was wearing her formal day-to-day gown; her pink hair neatly pulled back and tucked in a bun. Her gown was full length and ivory in color, complimenting her pale skin. She was wearing a pair of white gloves.

White seemed to be her friend's favorite color – Rita noticed. If she did not know any better, she would think Estelle was wearing a wedding gown.

"Now let me look at you," Estelle sighed, still clutching on to Rita's shoulder.

Rita stood still and crossed her arms; letting Estelle scanned her from top to bottom. The princess let out another disapproving sigh,

"Rita, look at you… .," she gestured her hands over what Rita was wearing ,"This is not the kind of clothing a young attractive lady such as yourself should be wearing."

Rita could not help but frown at Estelle's comment about her being an _attractive_ lady.

"Don't give me that look," Estelle clucked as she noticed the incredulous expression on the young mage's face,"You are almost 16! You should at least start paying attention to your appearance if not already interested in boys."

Rita almost choked as Estelle kept on going about how ideally romantic she would like a relationship to be, and that Rita should not have any trouble at all in finding a good looking man for herself if she was willing to try just a bit harder.

"I think you should be concerned about yourself more, Estelle," She fumed, "You are older than I am. Why don't _you_ find a guy for yourself?"

At this, Estelle paused and her daydreaming gaze dimmed away and a faint nervous smile formed on her face. Rita raised her eyebrows as she realized that her last words seemed to have hit the spot.

"Oh ho!," She teased, "Don't tell me you've found someone? Are _you_ in love?"

"I… I…", the princess stammered, apparent blush forming on her cheeks.

Rita definitely enjoyed the little display her friend was showing her – the princess' eyes darted away from one corner of the room to another, to insignificant decorations and many vases adorning the princess' chamber – avoiding Rita's imploring stare. Finally Estelle drew a quick breath, took Rita's hand and led her to her bed. She sat on one side of the bed and patted the space besides her, inviting Rita to sit as well.

Rita though, slumped her body and laid her head on the soft mattress which was covered with crisp white silk linen. On one corner of the bed, there were various plush dolls – one of them curiously looked like Repede. The bedside table held some small figurines of various small characters doing various poses. Rita recognized the figurines as the Luxury Toy Set which they acquired at one moment during their big adventure.

Speaking of, she actually came to Zaphias to discuss with Estelle about another journey she would about to set on. She stared at the ceiling – which was adorned with an intricately chiseled crystal lamp – and was just about to open her mouth to say something.

"Rita," Estelle beat her to it, "Do you… have someone you like?"

Rita blinked. Her friend's tone of voice sounded unsure and if she interpret it correctly – almost sad. She knew that this conversation was supposed to be about Estelle – and whoever the guy she involved herself with. Rita wondered what kind of guy would be fitting for a princess – and a vice-emperor at that – and if she would ever accept that man as her precious friend's lifelong companion.

She winced at herself as she thought of Estelle as her _precious_ friend. The princess' emotional streak must had been affecting her as well.

Estelle though - still staring at her own hands she rested on her lap, fingers twirling nervously – seemed to still wait for her answer.

"Oh, I don't know…. ! I am just never interested in…," Rita was flustered and a bit annoyed all the same time.

"Surely there is someone you have a crush on? ….. or someone you think you will fall in love with?" The princess hastily asked away - this time turning her body around slightly and stared at the mage, adamant to get her answers.

Estelle could be so stubborn sometimes.

Rita blurted out the first name that came into her mind,

"Geez… ! I don't know…. perhaps Yuri?"

Rita closed her eyes as she finished that sentence and could not help but wonder why in the world _Yuri_ had to be the first one she thought about – given the topic. Granted, Yuri was always nice to have around – he was strong, quite good looking for her standards, and Rita was sure that the dark-haired man would not be boring as a companion. If she _had to_ choose – maybe… maybe Yuri would be the best choice out there – of the ones she knew anyway. He might not have the brightest brain – Rita smiled inwardly – but her own was enough to cover for the both of them.

She suddenly realized the silence befalling her surrounding, flew her eyes open and looked sideways. She sighed in relief as she saw that Estelle was still sitting at her very same spot and had not left her alone in the room – but quickly grew wary as she noticed the blank stare her friend was giving her. Rita quickly straightened herself up and sat on the side of the bed; she was reaching out her hands to Estelle who seemed to still spacing out,

"… Yu…ri?," Estelle echoed, her voice quivered a little. Her expression was bitter, and Rita could see that the princess' eyes started to drop small tears, rolling down silently on her now-almost-white cheeks.

It felt as if she was struck with her own _Thunder Blade_ spell as the dawn of realization hit her.

Estelle _was_ in love with Yuri Lowell.

All the beating around the bush discussing the romance and she ended up hurting her friend with her own crush – at least she assumed it _was_ a crush – with the very same man.

Rita was just about to open her mouth to say something when the door flew open, and Karol invited himself in – cheerful as usual.

"Hi, guys!"

From behind him, Flynn Scifo and his second-in command female knight stood. They gave a silent salute to Estelle before following the young guild boss into the princess' private chamber.

Estelle strode quickly towards Karol and self-invited him into her arms as well – exactly as she had done when she saw Rita earlier. She could see the little runt blushed. She noticed though, Estelle's face was now fresh and void of any trace or tears or emotion she showed earlier. The princess was her usual cheery self once again – Rita could never figure out how Estelle could change her demeanor as quick as she did.

After being let go by the princess, Karol nervously tucked the uniform he was wearing, tidying it up a bit from the slight crinkle the earlier embrace had caused. The uniform was dark grey in color and bore Brave Vesperia logo – generously sewn across the right chest. A short dark brown cape was tied around his neck and he was wearing dark brown straight pants and black boots. Slung over his shoulder, was his usual oversized bag.

Karol turned his attention to Rita,

"Ba'ul is here which means Judith has found Yuri. We should be going."

Rita knew that she had to leave straight away and head to wherever Ba'ul was going to take them – to meet Judith and Yuri and discuss what they should do for a particular problem.

A problem that she initially wanted to discuss first with Estelle and which now seemed to be an impossible feat given that she did not have time to lounge about anymore.

At the mention of the dark-haired man's name though, Estelle's face lit up,

"Oh? I have not seen him for quite some time," she added, now with sad expression on her face, "And he has hardly returned my letters since he moved to Dahngrest…"

Rita made a mental note to whack Yuri in the head for not corresponding properly with the princess all this time.

"I will follow you later," Flynn cleared his throat with a silent cough and spoke for the first time, nodding at her as a silent greeting, "It seems that… the problem the union is currently facing has something to do with the Imperial Knights as well."

Estelle took some steps forward and grabbed Flynn's hands, "I will come with you!"

At this, Flynn nodded slowly, "If… if you wish, Lady Estellise."

"Why does this concern the empire anyway?," Rita crossed her arms, now leaning against the bed frame, directing her question at Flynn.

"It appears there have been attacks on some of our knights," Flynn paused and gestured at the female knight standing behind him slightly - Sodia, "After some investigations, we believe it is the same motive for the offensive actions that have been directed at the Union members lately"

"Though we are still clueless as to who the perpetrator is," Sodia added, "We would like to cooperate with the Union to get to the bottom of this."

Rita relaxed her arms and wondered who would have told the knights about the problem they were having. Flynn caught her curious expression,

"Captain Schwann… I mean, Raven, briefed us about your situation as soon as you all arrived"

That explained all. They arrived at Zaphias by boarding an Imperial craft from Capua Torim – which conveniently had Leblanc on it. The Schwann brigade's lieutenant was apparently investigating something on the Commandant's order. With Fiertia being used by Yuri and a long way at Nordopolica - or wherever he decided to go in his own carefree time – Ba'ul had to unload them at the port city then continued on with Judith to look for the young man.

Yuri would be the crucial part of their intended plan – or so the Krityan said. Judith had not actually explained on what she intended to do and in what way it would help with their mission at all.

As soon as they arrived at the capital city, Raven and Karol decided to have a brief catch-up with Flynn, while Rita decided to go looking for Estelle. The princess/ vice-emperor was attending to some Imperial matters when she asked for her, so she decided to wait in her room.

Rita had just said a quick goodbyes to Estelle and the knights when the princess quickly grabbed her hands and looked directly into her eyes,

"Rita! I wish you all the best with Yuri."

She groaned silently as she realized her earlier mindless confession had actually put quite a strain on her friend's mind. Even with the kind words and support Estelle was expressing, Rita could clearly sense the bitterness in her words. She had to talk to Estelle about this some time or the other; however it would have to wait for now.

* * *

Rita was so relieved when she began to see the mighty coliseum spread in front of her line of sight. She had been fighting the urge to barf from atop of Ba'ul's back all the time she and Karol were being transported from Zaphias to Nordopolica. She had never been fond of flying directly on the Entelexia – it was still okay when she travelled on the Fiertia while it was attached on Ba'ul – but flying with the current method caused her to be lightheaded and her stomach churned.

Karol though – she noticed – seemed to enjoy the experience.

Finally Ba'ul landed on the outskirt of the city and she tried her best to not wobble down his body all the while clutching onto her stomach and tried to keep all her earlier meals to stay _inside_. Karol briefly teased her about being such a scaredy cat before she shut his mouth by directing a small Fireball at his hair.

Raven had decided to join them with the knights later, since Leblanc managed to persuade him to look into some matters and paperwork that had been left unattended within the Schwann brigade. As much as he complained that he was not Schwann and could not care less about his alter-ego's knightly duties, everyone knew he could not find it in his heart to abandon his old subordinates altogether. So the old man became a double agent once again, attending to his brigade and also decided to spare his extra time to converse with the Commandant about the latest Union activities. His insight as one of the most respected members of Altosk was always considered highly valuable and respected by Flynn.

Rita and Karol made their way through the crowd and various huts at the market - with Karol finally able to extinguish the last flicker of flame dancing on his hair and cursing silently. She noticed that there had been quite a commotion where a pod of people seemed to be gathering at one corner. When she was just a couple of away from the spot, she could see Judith's purplish hair, then her whole being poking out of the crowd.

The Krityan smiled and waved at them. Rita waved back as she observed the people circling Judith were actually mostly men.

Rita sighed. Judith always attracted attention wherever she went.

As she got closer and towards the center of the crowd though, she noticed that the men were actually staring at a different person all the while – someone she had never seen before.

She could hear Karol's short gasp from besides her as he saw the same object she was now seeing. Rita herself could feel that for a moment – the air were sucked out of her lungs briefly.

The object of everyone's attention – and the one who drew starry eyes and whispers of admirations from the men and women present – was leaning on the bench with her arms folded. After shooting an annoyed expression at her admirers, she noticed Rita and Karol's presence and stared at them – suddenly rigid.

To say that the woman was beautiful was an understatement. She was nothing like Rita had ever seen before. She even daresaid, that the stranger was prettier than Judith.

The stranger had a black fitted turtleneck tunic on that fell just above her thighs. On top of the tunic she was wearing, she had a sheer silk vest – light purple in color – which was about the same length of the tunic itself and secured around her waist with a maroon waist band. Her long slim legs were covered with black stockings and knee-high maroon colored flat boots. She had an oddly familiar looking black knuckle-glove covering her right palm, but not on the other. Her face was almost ethereal – if there was ever a praise bestowed upon someone's facial feature – a shade or two lighter than Judith's own skin. Her raven mane was adorned with various hair ornaments and Rita could notice two extensions poking out of the back of her head – clearly seemed like a pair of Krityan's antennaes. Hers though, were about only half the length of Judith's antennae and were covered with a white antennae guard.

She was clearly a fighter - much like Judith – observing of her build and toned arms. And she was tall – even slightly taller than Judith who was wearing boots with heels. She was flat-chested though – much to Rita's relief. After all no one should be _that_ perfect.

Rita was still gaping at her while Judith clearly showed that she enjoyed her and Karol's expressions. Karol though, finally managed to find his voice,

"W-Who is she?"

Judith's smile widened,

"She is an old acquaintance of mine…. And she is a half-krityan."

- tbc


	5. Chapter 4 Reflection

…

_And so the young man, who was a commoner, saved the world from the threat of destruction._

_The princess has always known, that within the man she has entrusted her life and heart in, lays a true knight. She has never had any doubt and she was proven right all along._

_There was a big celebration when the hero came back to the Empire and he was accepted warmly by the Emperor and the citizens alike. He was a nobody, yet the Emperor gave him the highest title of knighthood he has ever bestowed on anyone._

_The young man, though gladly accepted the honor, kneeled in front of the princess and gently took her hand. He kissed the back of her palm with the softest of touch, and she could feel the butterflies flying freely within her._

_They knew then, they would be able to live together without fear, and that they would always have each other._

_Just like the ideal future they talked about, the very same night before they defeat the Adephagos, with the brightest star of Vesperia shining above them._

_

* * *

_

Flynn Scifo closed the last page of the book he had just read and though he could not understand why, he felt somber. At the back of the book cover, was the unmistakable signature of _Estellise __Sidos Heurassein_.

It was a draft book given to him by Princess Estellise a few weeks back – a book she had been working on since she went back from her trip with Brave Vesperia. She wanted Flynn to be the first person to read and review her latest and most major work before she publish it for print as a children fairy tale book. She was kind of flustered when she gave it to him though, and after reading it, he could see why.

It was not hard to tell – even from the first page of the book – that it was actually a concise and thorough story of her journey with Yuri and the guild Brave Vesperia. She did not even bother to change the Adephagos bit. The story was written from the princess' own point of view; and through it he could know what she thought about all the people she met and traveled with.

And about Yuri.

He had enjoyed reading the draft, immersing himself in the journey Yuri had made without him. He could feel the surge of pride in his friend as he browsed through the chapters – noticing how Yuri had grown stronger as the dark-haired man continued on his journey from one continent to the other, helping many people in need and also highly trusted by his comrades.

The ending though, had been troubling him. It weighed on his mind more than the lack of insight he could find in the chapter where Yuri fell off the Tower of Zaude. That particular chapter only elaborated Estellise' feelings more than anything – her hopes and dreams, and her first strike of realization that she was beginning to see Yuri as more than a reliable friend.

The ending – Flynn noticed – also depicted the hopes and future through the princess' eyes, what she wanted, and what she would like Yuri to be.

Flynn could not quite figure out why he was not entirely enthusiastic with the ending. He should think that it would be the perfect future – the Princess would get a perfect partner for life, and above all, Yuri would be back in knighthood.

And close to him.

It would be ideal, if he could only find what had been bothering him about the book ending's scenario.

He could not find the time to ponder about it any further as he heard a dull knock against the office's door and Sodia's voice from behind it,

"Commandant. All preparations are complete and we are ready to go."

Flynn straightened himself up and put the book inside the top drawer of his desk. He checked himself in the mirror, making sure his uniform was proper and his sword secured at his belt. His white armor was attached and buckled around his lean body, fitted to perfection. As the Commandant, he had to be the epitomy of a perfect knight. Finally he took a long deep breath and stepped out of his private office where Sodia was standing. She gave him a quick salute and behind her, Witcher followed suit. He gestured them to be at ease,

"Thank you, Sodia. Have you seen Lady Estellise?"

It turned out that Estellise was already waiting for him in the main hall as he arrived. She had dressed herself in a subtle attire more fitting for travelling. He nodded at her courtly and he could tell that the Princess was more than just excited at the prospect of seeing Yuri again. She greeted him and smiled,

"I have said my goodbyes to Ioder and I have pretty much done everything I could do in my line of duties," she sighed - sounding tired - and muttered further,

"There will be new ones when we come back here though… ."

Flynn could not help but feel a bit sorry for her. Since coming back to the capital, the Princess and His Majesty Ioder had been working hard to accommodate the Empire's citizens with whatever they could do to make life easier and better to go by. After all, the loss of blastia had not been easy on everyone.

Also being the vice-emperor that she was, all the more responsibilities were put upon her to revamp the Council, the nobles, and the laws affecting the Empire.

He could share her excitement in seeing Yuri again soon though. It had been months since they last saw each other, and none ever since his friend decided to move to Dahngrest.

Raven and his Schwann brigade were also tagging along. It seemed that Leblanc was more determined than ever to not let his Captain to disappear from his sight again – however annoyed Raven was with the lieutenant. However since he was going to go with the Imperial Knights and as he considered himself not a Captain of one anymore, there was little he could do to actually order Leblanc not to go with him.

As they made their way to the beach, Flynn noticed that the port they were working on was about half-finished. His Majesty Ioder decided to build an international port at the closest beach to Zaphias, to ease the flow of Fortune Market Guild's and various merchants' trades, and also to give the Imperial Knights a definite place where they could dock their massive fleet and many crafts.

He knew that Ioder would be a wise and good ruler.

Flynn looked at the horizon spread before him and noted the direction Ba'ul had flown a few hours earlier – Nordopolica – and asked his navigator to set course.

* * *

The Imperial craft set anchor at Nordopolica, the Fiertia just a metre away anchored in front of it. Being with quite a large group of knights he had brought himself with, Flynn could see the curious looks Nordopolica's residents were giving them.

The last time so many knights came to the city was when they intended to kill the Entelexia Belius on Alexei's order – a dark episode of his career he'd rather forget.

Tokunaga – the Fiertia's navigator – walked towards him as soon as he stepped off the vessel. The man - messy hair, tanned, and not properly dressed by Flynn's standard – just grinned at him, pointing at the coliseum building,

"Yo', knight. Brave Vesperia is now at Natz' office. Just make your way there."

From behind him, Flynn could sense Sodia stiffened and was battling her urge to teach a lesson to the impolite man, having not addressed the Commandant properly.

"Ah…. . I miss my Judith," Raven sighed, hopping a few steps in front of him and rolled his shoulders, "This ol' man need some lovin'"

Flynn could only chuckle at the former Captain's antics - he highly doubted that the Krityan's feeling towards Raven was mutual.

Finally being let in by the standing guard into Pallestralle's most private areas, the group made their way through the long staircase leading to the duce's office – an area Flynn had never been at before. He could hear a slightly trembling whisper that of one of the knights following him,

"I say, what if we suddenly get ambushed by a hostile Guild?", Adeccor whimpered.

"Tha… that is possible," Boccos added.

"Silence!," Leblanc hissed, "You are embarrassing me in front of the Commandant!"

Raven shrugged,

"Well, ya'all will be perfectly safe here. Brave Vesperia have been in and out here numerous times. That Natz chap is quite friendly, ya' know, if ya understand where he's comin' from."

"I-I say, un-understood, Captain Schwann – I mean R-raven, sir!"

Flynn had started to wonder if he should get a replacement captain for the Schwann brigade fast – and discipline the knights further. He definitely could not hope for Raven to stay in the Imperial Knights forever and mentor his knights. He ground his steps to a halt - followed by the same action by his followers – turned his body in a swift motion and looked sternly at the people in front of him, lingering his stare at the tall thin knight longer than the rests,

"You are the Imperial Knights. Your actions and words reflect on the actions and words of His Majesty Ioder, the Empire, and me. I hope you understand what I mean?"

Sodia, Witcher, and the Schwann brigade answered in unison,

"Yes, Sir!"

Raven yawned, jumped the last few steps, and pushed the heavy door wide open,

"Judith darrrlliinn'…..!"

Flynn could not decipher the pause Raven made as soon as he opened that door, nor the abrupt quickened steps the man made into the duce's office seconds later. He was half-expecting to see Raven ogling over the Krityan, until he himself got a full view of the office and the occupants in it and he could hear short gasps of his knights – those of a sudden lack of air.

All members of Brave Vesperia were sitting in the middle of the room in a circle formation – heads turning to see who had come. There were some empty chairs made ready for him and the knights apparently. That was not what had caught his attention though.

All members of Brave Vesperia were there – except Yuri. Instead, there was a person sitting cross-legged nonchalantly on the duce's desk – a person he had never seen before.

Or had he really never seen this person before?

With the last sunlight of dusk shining through the frosted glass windows and bathing the stranger, almost blurring her from sight, Flynn could almost swore that the sunrays were reflected off her whole figure and that somehow made her skin as luminous as a night with many stars.

"Who do we have here…," he could hear Raven cooing over the female, also mesmerized,

"My dear, allow me to introduce myself. I am the second-in-charge of the Guild Altosk – one of the five major guilds in the Union…."

Rita rolled her eyes, snorted, and muttered something sounded like, "Here we go again…"

"It is indeed very nice to meet cha'…"

"I say, I have never seen such a fine lady…"

"I-indeed."

"What business do you have with the Guild, my dear? Raven'll be very happy to help…."

"I-I say, even no one in the Imperial City can be compared to …"

"I-indeed."

Everyone seemed to have an agreement with their opinions and praises of the person – knights or not - who was now staring at Flynn intently.

Flynn could not help but try to remember a previous occasion he might have met her, and might have known her. Something about her was strikingly familiar - her figure, her demeanour, aura, and the way she just _sat_ there - and he found himself staring into the pair of deep black eyes he seemed to know very well – staring back at him with full force.

Princess Estellise was the first one to address Brave Vesperia properly,

"H-Hi everyone…", she walked a few steps inside, bowed at her friends, and towards the stranger, "Urm...I-I am Estelle. It is very nice to meet you. May I know your name?"

"She is a friend of mine," Judith answered on her _friend_'s behalf, "She is a half-krityan"

At least that explained the human ears and the short Krityan antennae.

"As I said before," the young mage spoke sternly,

"It is just not possible. Not only the Krityans have never eloped with humans before – there was never a history of it – study and research shows that the chromosomes just would not match. Hence, an offspring of the two races is impossible!"

"Oh? But here she is….," Judith gestured her hands at the half-krityan, who briefly glanced at her before returning to contently stare back at Flynn.

"Don't expect her to speak though," the Krityan continued, nodding at the Princess, "She is mute. Apparently something to do with the genetical disorder she has, being a half Krityan and human altogether."

Though sounded apologetic, somehow Flynn could sense a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Urgh! Where is Yuri anyway! We have been waiting for hours and all we get to see is more guys drooling over her," Rita threw her head backwards, apparently exasperated and annoyed.

Flynn then noticed Repede sitting by the desk – close to the stranger – and noticed the unmistakable Fell Arm Abyssion tied securely around the canine's body.

The only Fell Arm he had entrusted to Yuri after Brave Vesperia defeated the Adephagos, while the rest of the ancient weapons were stored safely in the very depths of the Empire's treasury vault in the castle back at Zaphias.

The only Fell Arm Abyssion that was now tied onto Repede who seemed to be perfectly at ease with the stranger's company.

"Aw… poor thing," Raven cooed again,

"Don't worry, my dear. Ol' Raven will take good care of ya…."

The letters forming a name at the back of his brain finally started to be more vivid as he continued to look into those black penetrating eyes. The familiar name of a very dear person to him, struggling to be spoken of, caught at the tip of his tongue.

He muttered the name in silence, feeling his lips moving about in the form of it. He watched the stranger suddenly stiffened and he could almost see the nervousness formed on her beautiful face.

"Yu…ri?," this time, he said it aloud.

Karol quickly jumped on his feet and looked at the door, expecting the long-haired swordsman to walk in without a single care in the world and greet them in his usual cynical ways. Estellise did the same.

Then came the groan – unmistakably that of a man – from the direction of the half-krityan woman was still at.

And then the unmistakable sarcastic tone of a voice was spoken out of her – almost a hint of embarrassment in it – that of _only _Yuri Lowell could ever produce,

"Damn, Flynn! It took you long enough, I was kinda hoping you wouldn't notice."

- tbc

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**Playing the game, watching the anime cutscenes, and the skits, I thought... Even if Yuri looks like _that_ - long hair, slim, feminine and all - his voice is all man. That kinda makes him sexier... _*cough*_ I love Yuri's voice... .**

**That's it for now. Hang onto the cliff, everybody... and while you're at it, tell me what you think :)**

**Have a great (rest of) weekend.**


	6. Side Arc 1 Wonders

**Lunat1's note:**

**This arc serves as a filler on what happened before Brave Vesperia and the Knights arrived at Nordopolica (when Yuri was in the mercy of Judith's hands)**

* * *

Repede watched intently at his master who was sitting on a small wooden chair, looking helpless. Standing looming over Yuri was Judith - who looked like she was really enjoying herself - walking in circles around the swordsman and examined his figure thoroughly.

Yuri thought to himself he had never felt so naked before, even though he was still wearing his full clothing,

"You should explain yourself first before you do anything to me that will scar me for life," the dark-haired man looked at his Krityan friend with wary eyes. He was definitely not amused.

Yuri could just fight her out of the awkward situation she had put him in, but the Krityan usually had a very good reason in her actions, however warped they were.

Judith took half section of his hair, delicately twisted it around her fingers and secured the base of the twist with some pins. She proceeded to do the same with the other half,

"Do you remember about the disappearance of some Guild members that have been happening lately?," She murmured, not tearing her attention from Yuri's hair.

Yuri recalled the mystery that was quite a hot topic in Dahngrest even before he went to Nordopolica: Guild members started missing during their missions and it seemed to be a worldwide phenomenon. It had baffled Harry and the Union as it seemed to be some random acts – no specific Guild was targeted. Instead, the missing people were members of various guilds altogether – big or small.

He nodded silently and regretted it straight away as Judith tautly jerked his head backwards, annoyed at his sudden change of position.

She hummed silently as she reached for another object out of her satchel and proceeded to work on his hair further,

"Well, we finally managed to get some statistics …"

She paused and sighed in satisfaction as she crossed her arms and scrutinized her work closely. Yuri was not so sure whether he really wanted to know how her _work_ looked like – especially when that work was going to be him being – well – _not_ quite himself.

She took yet another object from her satchel, what looked like to be a small glass jar. When she opened the cap off it, Yuri almost gagged.

He could hear Repede whimpered and he knew the dog agreed with him about the smell of whatever was in the jar. Seconds later, he could hear Repede's footsteps getting further away from him – apparently determined to be as far away as possible from the smelly source.

As he could see closer at what Judith was holding in her hands, he saw the offensive object turned out to be some sort of greenish gel-like mixture that looked entirely revolting – the green blob formed tiny bubbles that exploded every few seconds. Even the smell, from the close distance, was worse than the Nia fruit.

The Krityan smiled at him, seemed to be oblivious of the pungent stench herself,

"You need to apply this on your skin and let it stand for fifteen minutes."

"You must be joking!" he blinked at her, "I am not going to prance about smelling like a turd!"

Judith sighed,

"Anyway, where was I before…," She thrusted the jar into Yuri's hand and brought her fingers on to her chin, ignoring his incredulous expression,

"… right! We took some statistics from the Guilds, and it seems that all the disappearing members have one trait in common."

For once, Yuri forgot the smell and his curiousness came to him,

"And that is…?"

Judith looked at him with her ever meaningful smile,

"… They are all females."

Then Yuri's brain started to put two and two together and he finally realized what Judith intention was: he was going to be a female – well at least appearance wise.

"So you want me to be a bait?"

Judith slapped his back not-quite delicately and Yuri tried his best not to spill the jar contents all over his lap.

"I know you're sharp, Yuri," her smile widened, "But there will be _three_ baits: you, me, and Rita"

She then gestured at the jar still in Yuri's hands, "And if you don't start using that now, I will strip you naked and do it myself"

Yuri knew he did not want to argue and particularly find out if her threat was real. He was not so sure though if her plan would work; and he still did not know what the purpose of the green blob was – even if he had no choice but to smear his body with it as Judith had wanted. He figured Judith would not be as cruel as to intend to harm him with the innocent-but-repulsive green concoction.

Nevertheless, Judith took his silence as his absolute cooperation to her grand scheme and she quickly hung some fabrics, hooking them from wall to wall. The make-shift curtain served as his private change room. After stepping out of the small space Yuri was left in, she threw the outfit she had chosen earlier at him,

"Put this on after you're done!"

Yuri stared at the outfit and was quite relieved that at least the Krityan had not chosen one as sexual as the one she was wearing. The attire was quite plain – though still feminine-oriented.

He took the white shirt off his body and held his breath as he dipped his fingers into the jar.

The green blob was cold, and even more as he spread it over his chest area.

"There was one man though that has disappeared as well. And he seems to be the only male missing," Judith's voice was heard from behind the curtain.

Yuri frowned as he continued to smear the goo all over him, "Do we know him?"

"Professor Sicily."

Yuri closed his eyes for a good minute, trying to remember the name of the person he had encountered in the past – someone with a very peculiar accent,

"Oh.", he muttered, "the _bon guerno_ guy."

"Yes", Judith nodded, "And it seems that his disappearance has something to do with his latest invention. Kaufman should have a lead for us, she will meet us later at night. Karol and the rest should be here by then to know better what we are dealing with."

Professor Sicily had invented some amazing weapons for Brave Vesperia in the past – Yuri remembered – and even made Karolow X. As useless as the small robot was, he could not deny that its very existence was quite amazing as it seemed to be able to express various emotions by itself – a trait any mechanical device should not have. He wondered what invention the weird genius had produced that seemed to get the Union baffled; even more what it had to do with the various acts of disappearance.

As he pondered about the new mission – and his likely role in it – he suddenly realized that he could not smell the foul stench on his body anymore. Yuri had used the whole mixture contained in the jar and had pretty much covered every inch of his skin, which now curiously smelled like fresh dewy grass. The mixture had somehow been absorbed into his skin – and much to his wonder and horror – change the very appearance of it.

He had just put on his new outfit when he realized what looked different as he stared at his own hands, waving them and turning them continuously in front of him to get a better view.

Was he imagining things or was his skin _actually_ glowing?

A split second later, the curtain was pried open and Judith stood there – an absolute satisfaction portrayed on her face. She then proceeded to ask for a full-length mirror from the stall lady, who was now also gaping at the sight of him.

As he stared at his reflection in the mirror – he knew why.

He could hardly recognize himself – his skin had actually changed color and radiated faint light. The shades were much lighter than his used-to-be tanned complexion. However, he could still find his old self in the mirror's reflection, at least the strange mixture – albeit responsible for changing his color – did not melt or somehow change his bone structure.

Judith, after taking good few seconds to admire him, took a pair of emerald furry extensions from her satchel and attached them onto the back of his head, just below his ears. She stood behind him and smiled at his reflection in the mirror,

"I went to the Shrine of Baction and got some Uniceros manes especially for you."

She then covered his hair – which she had split into two neat sections earlier – with a pair of white antennae guards that seemed to have been modified to suit his hair length. Then he realized that he actually looked like a Krityan – minus the ears and the long antennae – and a female one at that. The Uniceros mane – Yuri noticed – served as the base of _his_ short antennae and he had to admit that Judith actually had done a really good job in transforming him into someone else and of opposite gender.

Yuri though, was still worried with his current skin color. He crossed his arms and stared back into the mirror, at Judith's reflection,

"What was in the jar, Judy? Will this be permanent?"

She put her hands behind her back and shrugged slightly, eyes darting upwards,

"It is some vegetable mixture I got from the chief at Myorzo. He has finally found a way to grow the magical cucumber he always wanted and somehow invented this mixture,"

She smiled again at him, "He said it also does wonders to the skin… . I didn't realize it will be _this_ good"

"You don't have to worry, the glow will settle more in time… and when the absorbed mixture is flushed out of your system naturally, you will be back to your old-self," she then murmured quietly, "Though it will be a real pity…."

Yuri thought it would not be as bad as he thought – from what Judith was saying. All he had to expect was probably green piss for quite some time coming out of him whenever he did his business, and in time, he would not look like a girl anymore.

"What makes you think this will work? What about my voice?," Yuri put his right hand on his hip and turned his body around so he was facing her – then his eyes widened at the sudden possible horrifying act he might have to endure,

"Don't tell me you have another disgusting juice I have to drink that will _somehow_ change my voice?"

The thought of having to scoff down something as revolting as the magical cucumber mixture down his throat was enough for him to suddenly put up his stance – ready to bolt from that place.

To hell with the grand scheme.

Judith though, exhaled and shook her head lightly – somehow disappointed – and Yuri somewhat relaxed his tension,

"Unfortunately no… . It will not work…," Then her eyes lit up again, "But that's okay! Because you will not utter a single word."

Yuri raised one eyebrow and stared at his friend, waiting for her further explanation. Judith took a small step back away from him and took a full view of her _project_,

"You will be _mute_. You will not say a single word and I am sure no one will be able to tell you are a man - let alone our dear Yuri."

He frowned and thought that not having to say anything was easy enough in normal circumstances – not in his case though. He had never been a subtle and quiet man, and as he remembered telling Flynn some long time ago – _he could not concentrate without talking_. However he decided that it would not be an impossible feat to do anyway, and he should just see how things turn out – especially if it was going to help in the mission.

Yuri also made a mental note to himself that there was a certain person he would rather die than to let him be seen in his current state – a person with blond hair that he had not seen for quite some time.

* * *

So they finally caught up with Karolow X – who was somehow chained onto a lamp pole at the Nordopolica port – and the robot did not recognize him in the least, judging from its sudden halt on all functions apart from just standing at its spot - eyes fixated at him.

Then not long after, as he watched the expressions on Rita and Karol's faces when they arrived, he knew that Judith was right.

He almost thought that this whole charade was fun – even fooling Raven as the old man walked through the door leading into Natz' office – until a certain blond Commandant's figure appeared from behind the ex-Captain.

Yuri thought if he could break the windows and just make a run for it, he would. Judith had not said anything about the knights joining in their discussion. However, from a short oblivious stare she gave him in a split second, he knew she actually did not have a slightest idea either about the reason of Flynn being there.

And for whatever reason, when he saw Flynn just stood there – staring at him – he had never felt so nervous in his life, not only from the possibility of him being recognized, but also the way his friend looked at him – seemingly touching his every inch of skin with his penetrating gaze.

Then all hell broke loose when Flynn opened his mouth and pronounced his name aloud.

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**the next chapter won't be far away. I hope this clears things up a bit for you's who were wondering how Yuri ended up like that.**

**Ah yes.. remember the magical cucumber that supposedly would make any dish a gourmet miracle? I thought to myself... well... cucumber is also good for the skin, ja?**


	7. Chapter 5 Senses

All heads snapped and all eyes were now fixated at _she_-Yuri.

"Yuri Lowell?", the tall thin knight – Adecor – squeaked meekly, evidently not believing his eyes as he took a hesitant step back.

"What evil scheme you are planning now, Lowell!", Leblanc flared, face turning red and it was also apparent that he was really taken aback from the revelation; his expression clearly signified that he still had a slight doubt about the beautiful creature sitting on the desk being the very same man he had been hunting for most of his knight life.

Karolow X walked solemnly in small dragged steps – all the while looking at Yuri with its marble eyes - and finally climbed into Karol's bag, evidently shocked by what it had seen and heard.

Karol practically hung his mouth open, his eyes bewildered and fingers pointed at his brother-like – now _sister_-like – figure who was now crossing his arms, bemused, but clear uneasiness reflected on his face.

Judith was not amused though. Her lips formed a slight pout as she glared at the Commandant – the person responsible for revealing Yuri's identity.

She was so sure that no one would notice, let alone Flynn who had not seen Yuri for months. Everything had gone incredibly well, even as far as being able to trick her human friends and also Estelle. She wanted to be the one who introduce her half-Krityan creation as the dark-haired swordsman they knew, but ideally way after she had enough of her share of fun.

Flynn's second-in-command - Sodia - drew her sword off its sheath and pointed it at Yuri,

"This is crime at its highest, Yuri Lowell! Who are you trying to con with your absurd disguise!"

Judith had to agree with her though. Beauty was indeed a crime; and with Yuri the way he was, the crime level would be multiplied ten-fold.

Flynn gently lowered her sword, not tearing his gaze from his friend,

"At ease, Sodia! I am sure Yuri has a perfectly good explanation to this," he added, "Which I am also curious to know."

Sodia reluctantly sheathed her sword and bowed slightly at his command, pure rage still apparent on her face.

Judith noticed something new. Her eyes darted from Estelle, trying to fathom her expression apart from the shock evidently apparent on her face; then to Flynn – trying to decipher what was reflected on his seemingly-stoic demeanor.

She was still immersing herself in face-reading Estelle and Flynn before finally realized that everyone was now looking at her. Yuri had gestured towards her and expected her to do the explanation. She sighed before proceeding to explain what she knew about the disappearances of the Guild members – mainly reciting them for the Knights as Karol, Rita, and Raven were already informed of what she already knew, and briefly touching on the reason behind her transforming Yuri to how he was.

Yuri stood and stretched his arms over his head and yawned,

"You still haven't told me _why_ I really need to be disguised like this," he then walked in a few large robust steps towards the center of the room,

"I mean, if you want bait, you and Rita should be enough."

Judith made a mental note that she would have to teach Yuri to walk like a lady. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Raven fidgeting uneasily at every moment Yuri spoke. The old man was now sitting on a chair, head slumped and legs spread in front him, and he was unusually quiet.

"Actually, _you_ are the critical factor to make this bait plan work at all," she said, looking at Yuri, then to the rest of the group,

"The disappearances have been occurring less and less for the past few weeks, though none of them already missing ever come back at all."

Then Karol seemed to finally get himself in control again and piped in – and Judith was glad that she did not have to do all the talking now,

"The latest people missing seemed to be more prominent, stronger members of the Guilds." Karol coughed, still feeling uneasy to make conversation with the she-Yuri, "At first it was just random females, but lately it seemed that whoever is behind this have been targeting strong women."

"And even some of my fellow Krityans have been abducted from Mount Temza….," Judith solemnly added.

"And this little runt makes this thing his personal matter now because his Nan was attacked recently and someone tried to kidnap her," Rita snorted, nodded towards Karol, her eyes were never torn from following Yuri's every single movement.

Karol blushed a deep crimson at this and stuttered, "N-not to worry, guys. She's perfectly safe!"

"Yeah well.. duh! I pity the abductors…," Rita muttered under her breath.

Flynn finally took an empty seat and focused his attention to their discussion, bringing his hand to his chin and casted his gaze downward in deep thinking,

"So basically, all these disappearances - abductions - are now being targeted at no mere women. The perpetrator is looking for people with at least more than just normal abilities."

He let out a tired sigh before turning his head silently towards Sodia,

"This should explain the attack on you and your troops last week, Sodia."

Judith now looked at the woman, waiting for her explanation. Sodia briefly glanced at Flynn – who nodded at her in approval – before proceeded to speak,

"When I was exterminating some monsters in the forests south of Aurnion last week with a few knights, we were ambushed by bandits," she added,

"At least we thought they were bandits. They were no mere rogues though, and they all wore some kind of masks to cover their faces. I managed to unmask a few of them in the midst of our fights, and it appeared that they are all women. Strange enough, all of them seemed to target me."

"The knights did not have any casualties, thankfully," Flynn added, "I was not there at the time, but I have complete confidence in Sodia."

At this - Judith noticed – the female knight's face turned pinkish,

"Sir! Unfortunately, I failed to capture any of them. This is completely because of my lack of capabilities."

"So from what we know," Yuri pondered, still crossing his arms and now tapping his fingers against his elbows, "They have also started to try to abduct some female knights?"

"It appeared so," Flynn lifted his head and looked at his friend, his incomprehensible expression returned to him once again.

"So Yuri," Judith smiled at the swordsman, "What we can conclude is that the culprit is looking for various specimens – humans, Krityans, you name it. If it is only me and Rita, they may not be too interested; especially now that the occurrences of the attacks have diminished greatly."

"But with a half-Krityan in your team, you will attract them out of their hiding for sure," Karol jumped from his seat and clapped his hands, "Judith, you are a genius!"

"So, we need to get caught on purpose and try to find out the whereabouts of the missing people," Rita added, finally catching on with the plan.

Yuri frowned, "Okay… . What does this have anything to do with the Sicily guy?"

"That…," Judith darted her eyes towards the ceiling – she was not so sure either, "We will know when Kaufman arrives. But apparently what she has found in her latest trade expedition seems to be related to the mystery."

Yuri sighed, cracked his knuckles – and Judith could see Raven fidgeted uncomfortably again – and untied his sword from Repede's back. The dog just stared at him and yawned lazily before contently closing his eyes and curled sideways, burying his head in his own fur.

"Well, while we are waiting," Yuri grinned at Flynn, slinging his sword over his shoulder "What do you say about a quick melee, Commandant? I can use a little amusement here."

The Commandant's eyes flickered with what seem to be glimmer of excitement,

"Oh really? You never get tired of me busting your arse, do you, Yuri?"

"What?" Yuri laughed – and Raven fidgeted yet again – "No, no, no! I will bust _your_ arse!"

Suddenly the old man raised his hands and looked at the Commandant, as if asking for a permission to speak. The room was now silent as they were all waiting for him to say something. Raven's eyes darted from Flynn and then painfully at Yuri,

"My dear boys," he sighed, sounding rueful, "I am not trying ta' ruin your sentiments 'ere, but _busting each other's arse_ sounds so wrong between the two of ya'. Especially with ya' dressed like that, Yuri."

Judith tried hard to suppress the wide grin threatening to form on her face – she could see everyone in the room turning red as they slowly came to understand the meaning of the words spoken out of Raven's smart mouth.

Most interestingly, she could see the Commandant practically changed color, even turning deep crimson to the tip of his ears. She swore Yuri also had a ting of redness on his face behind the pale complexion he had. Judith wished she could see how red the usually-cold swordsman could be – if only the magical cucumber mixture did not disguise him perfectly.

"Oh, and Yuri?", Raven added, his wistful eyes on the swordsman, "Please do not speak when you're in front of me, looking like that," He sighed, "As long as I don't need to hear your voice… Let this ol' man admire a pretty lady and dream a bit more, would y…"

A split second later, the old man was knocked off his seat, his body sprawled ungracefully on the floor – a blue bruise starting to form across his face, what clearly seemed to be the mark of the Fell Arm Abyssion's hilt – the sword thrown at him by Yuri who started to spit all curses under the sun – unbefitting of his face. Judith was relieved that at least he had not used any of his artes - otherwise they might have already been buried in rubbles.

The door was suddenly opened, and Kaufman and Natz made their way in,

"I am sorry I am late," Kaufman nodded slightly, greeting everyone in the room.

"Hey all," Natz waved his hands, "Sorry I wasn't here when you arrived. Just some things I need to sort out in the coliseum; some contestants have apparently been missing and so have their names forfeited from the melee..."

"I also need to settle in Capua Torim before coming here. It took longer than I thought …", she paused, looking briefly at the unconscious Raven, then to all occupants in the room,

"I thought I could hear Lowell's foul mouth?"

Yuri groaned, and the new guests' heads turned at his direction.

"Don't ask!" he muttered, hint of fury still dancing on his eyes.

Natz' shoulders started shaking uncontrollably, apparently trying hard not to burst out in roaring laughter, and Kaufman just grinned and shrugged,

"My, My! Yuri Lowell? You are the very representation of the word _androgynous._"

"_afro-genius_?" Karol blinked, not comprehending. Rita snorted and muttered,

"Idiot!"

For the first time since she entered the office, Estelle spoke in a monotone voice - closing her eyes as if reciting a story - the usual habit she always had whenever a difficult subject came up and she felt that it was her obligation to explain things from educational point of view,

"_Androgynous_," she started, closing her palms against each other, "It is a term used to refer to _genderless_, quite simply. It reflects the ambiguousness in gender, where the female and male characteristics cannot be distinguished... ."

And Yuri groaned for the umpteenth time for the day. Estelle muttered a quick sorry before blushing pink.

Kaufman clears her throat with a very loud obstrusive cough,

"I am not going to ask what you are up to, Yuri Lowell," then she took out a small object from her pocket.

It was about a size of a pebble and it seemed to be quite transparent - the centre of it radiated a faint bluish glow. It reminded Judith of a small Apatheia.

Kaufman looked at the office's occupants in turn, then finally rested her eyes on Rita and threw the object at her,

"Try casting a spell while holding onto this stone."

The young mage frowned at the object, than at the Fortune Market President, before closing her eyes and started to chant a spell formula - magic circles started to form around her and the air around her became more dense,

"_Come forth o avaricious netherworld_... "

As she were close to murmur the last few words of the arte, she opened her eyes - bewildered - then quickly withdrew her spell, the lights around her slowly dissipate. She raised the innocent looking stone closer to her eyes, observing it carefully before looking at Kaufman,

"This... feels like the bodhi blastia!"

Everyone in the room seemed to try to voice their opinion altogether,

"What? but all blastia cores should have already been gone... ."

"That thing only looks like a shiny marble... what..."

"That is impossible..."

Rita crossed her arms and nodded,

"There is no mistake about it. It felt like a blastia, it definitely increased the power of my arte. I could feel it... ," then she looked at Judith, "There was just one thing that was different though... . This felt... cleaner... pure aer... no - pure mana are withdrawn through this _thing_ and flow into me."

- tbc

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**it will be a bit slower from here on (I mean plot wise, I will try to update still as quick as I can, but that is up to you - your reviews decide the continuation of this fiction). I really hope you are enjoying how the story progress.**

**and sorry for the more technical things about aer and mana... but well, if you play the game, you know what I gibbered about :D :D**


	8. Chapter 6 Plans

"Excatly. That is what the stone was supposed to do," the Fortune Market President nodded and smiled at Rita.

She leaned her back against the wall, crossing her legs. Adjusting her spectacles, she tilted her head slightly and gestured at Flynn,

"Now, Commandant, you should have a go as well. See how it reacts to you."

Rita swiftly threw the stone at Flynn, who quickly caught it with his right hand. He looked at the stone, slight frown forming on his forehead. He could see the stone reacting to Rita's spell earlier when the mage started to chant her formula – the light from within the stone seemed to grow brighter as the spell was casted. However in his hand now, the light returned to its initial dull color – just the faintest blue glimmering from within.

He finally decided on what spell he should use to personally feel how the stone would alter it at all. Clutching the stone tightly in his palm, he walked over to Raven – who was still lying on the floor – then kneeled besides him and stretched his hand towards the older man.

Blue ribbon lights started to form around him as he closed his eyes and chanted First Aid, all the while trying to concentrate in feeling any indifference from within his body and if the stone was altering the power of his spell in any way.

"_Holy power, come…. First Aid!_"

As he finished the spell, he opened his eyes and darted his gaze downwards slightly at the stone. Raven groggily woke up after the spell brought him back to consciousness, the man now sat on the floor with both hands against his knees, eyeing Flynn curiously.

"There was … nothing extraordinary…," Flynn said, "Or should I say… I did not feel anything different at all."

Kaufman brought her hands to her chin and closed her eyes,

"As I thought…. The stone – whatever it is – only reacts to women. It seemed to alter the power of the artes or spells if used by females."

Yuri walked over closer to where Flynn was standing and he could feel the dark-haired man's breath on his neck as his friend casually threw one arm around his shoulder and tilted his body closer to him in his attempt to have a closer look at the stone still in his hand.

Flynn suddenly realized that for a few seconds since he felt the casual touch of his friend – he forgot to breath.

"Where did you find this?" Rita asked, the question directed at Kaufman, and Flynn was grateful that someone could give him a distraction from the strange sensation he was still feeling - and he knew it was not because of the stone.

"I found it on one of my merchant's body, or should I say… corpse," Kaufman shrugged, but it was apparent that she was shaken as she spoke,

"She had been missing for a few weeks until we found her mummified body in the Forest of Keiv Moc. The stone was imbedded close to her heart; we had to dissect her to get it out," she shook hear head,

"From the state of the corpse when we found her, we could not even figure out her identity if not for the Fortune Market tattoo on the back of her neck – a compulsory trait for all of our registered merchants."

Flynn could hear the Princess' short gasp and could not help but to share her sentiment as well. Whatever the stone was and whatever predicament it was bringing upon them, there was little doubt that this object had claimed a life and probably many more already.

"Wait," Raven lifted his head and leaned his head against his knuckles, "Ya' said the stone was imbedded _in _her, and she was found dry like a mummy,"

He brought his left hand and touched his chest – where his heart was supposed to be, "That sounds a lot like this…. thing."

"Your _blastia heart_," Princess Estellise' eyes widened.

"Yeah," there was a painful smile fleeted across the ex-Captain's face, "This blastia heart that grants this ol' man immortality so long as I have enough life force to feed it."

"It seemed that the stone does the same thing ta' its host, draining life energy – the host's _mana_. But the way it feed on the energy is too sinister and too quick if your merchant had only been missing for a few weeks and found dead weeks after."

"So maybe that's why whoever's behind this is now looking for stronger women. Naturally, people with higher skills and capabilities will have more life force than….," Rita pondered and paused, and quickly snapped her head and glared in fury at Kaufman, "You! You gave that stone to me and _asked_ me to test it out knowing that the stone would take my _mana_?"

A second later, there was a sword pointed at Kaufman's neck by Sodia, who was equally furious,

"And you asked the Commandant to test it out as well, knowing that it could have taken his life force?"

"No harm done, Sodia," Flynn stiffly said, though he was not impressed with the Fortune Market President's action in making him a test subject to a potentially dangerous object, "It did not seem to react to me after all."

Kaufman smiled and gently pushed away the tip of the sword,

"Thank you, Commandant. As for you, Rita, I was not sure the actual implications the stone would bring on a human being, but it seems that Raven is right, so my apologies," she bowed slightly, "Though it is safe to say that your life has not been cut short by any second since you have swiftly withdrawn your spell before the chant was finalized."

The young mage gritted her teeth and Flynn could see her clenching her fists tightly and her body slightly trembling from anger.

He realized that Yuri was not by his side anymore and that his friend was now standing in front of Kaufman, his face just inches away from hers as he loomed over her – his presence seemed full of menace even to him,

"The next time you have any bright idea, " the dark-haired man muttered in a low voice, his anger radiated from him - though his sword was still safely sheathed, "It will be much appreciated if you can explain what you know first before subjecting any of us to any danger."

If it was any ordinary person at the receiving end of Yuri's apparent fury, Flynn was sure that person would have passed out - the threat was evident behind his words. However, it seemed that Kaufman was not one ordinary person, her experience and reputation had brought whatever bravery into her. The menacing presence of Yuri in front of her had not alter her stoic expression one bit,

"Understood, Yuri Lowell," she said casually, her slight smile still on her face.

Yuri turned his head away and Flynn was relieved that his friend was somewhat relaxed once more.

"This stone," Flynn asked Kaufman, "Do you know how this was created... or who made this?"

"I have a clue," she replied, "It is quite certain that Professor Sicily is responsible in bringing this stone into existence."

"And you know that because…?" Rita asked.

"Well, all I know is that all his creations seem to have his signature on them. This stone is no exception. If you look closely, you can see his name engraved on the surface."

Flynn frowned and squinted his eyes and finally located the tiny engraving – hardly visible – on the stone.

The Brave Vesperia young boss - Karol - opened his bag and took out a small robot, examining its metal body - much to the latter's annoyance. As he found what he was looking for, he almost shouted,

"Hey, you're right! There's his name engraved on Karolow X' right leg, too!" he then muttered, "Man, this guy has the same habit as Rita, naming their possessions..."

"But he doesn't look like a bad guy," Judith chimed in, "Don't get me wrong, this stone is by no means Hermes blastia, I have asked Ba'ul and he could not sense any disturbance in the aer when Rita used her spell. But this stone is dangerous for whoever is using it. If there are more of them out there, we need to know how… and why he created this object."

"He is a genius," Rita admitted – though it was clear she was bitter when she spoke of someone else who seemed to be smarter than her, "I mean, he was the one who modified the Fiertia so it can run without a blastia."

"And the same prototype is used to get the Imperial fleet running too," Sodia added. Indeed, the eccentric guy had been a lot of help to both the Union and the Empire in inventing new objects to bring about more convenience into people's life - until his sudden disapperance a few months back. Back then, everyone thought he had enough and just ran away on his own accord - after all his eccentricity revolved around his willingness to work on things he was only interested in, and not caring in any monetary rewards or titles the Empire was willing to bestow upon him.

"Well, if he's found guilty, he won't get away," Yuri muttered.

"He might not be the same person responsible for the disappearances, ya' know," Raven said, "I mean, someone may be threatening him to mass-produce this stone for their own plans…."

"Why only females though?" Rita folded her arms, and Flynn could see that she was exasperated.

"It seemed that women have purest form of _mana_," Princess Estellise said, "It might have something to do with our natural ability to bring life or reproduce, but the stone could only react to pure _mana_."

It is similar to how the Tower of Tarqaron operates. Remember how it drew power from people's _mana?_. Though this stone seemed to specifically react to only women, because they have the purest form of _mana_," she added.

"How do you know that, Estelle?" Yuri raised one eyebrow. Flynn could see that the Princess was flustered as she was being addressed for the first time that day by the swordsman.

Again, the strange sensation - like something was blocking his air flow, preventing him to breath properly – came to him, and he tried his best to ignore it.

"Beli… I mean the Spirits told me," she answered, nodding her head. It was apparent that Undine – who used to be Belius – was the particular one who had provided her with the information at that moment. The Spirit of the ex-duce of Pallestralle seemed to be particularly attached with the area – considering her previous link with the city. Estellise did not mention the Entelexia's name for the sake of Natz who was in the room and by Undine's own request.

For Undine herself, her old self was dead and therefore she considered it proper not to have any more attachment to Natz and Pallestralle – and vice verse.

The Spirits – who had helped them greatly in destroying the Adephagos – though had hardly ever come into physical existence in front of everyone, seemed to be able to communicate directly with the Princess. Their existence were brought about using Estellise' _mana_ after all and thus were linked to her.

"Oh, hang on. Sylph is here as well, " Estellise closed her eyes and her lips moved about in silent words as she communicated with the wind Spirit. As she slowly opened her eyes, her expression was forlorn,

"The Aer Krene at Keiv Moc and the Aer Krene spring at the Weccea continent are almost dry," she spoke, almost choked with the revelation Sylph had just told her, "Those two places are no longer sacred. The places have been tampered by some humans Sylph managed to get a glimpse of before they left…"

"She could not recognize any of them," the Princess added, "But right now she is very sad."

Everyone in the room was silent as they could imagine how it must have felt to the wind Spirit. The Aer spring at Relewiese Hollow in the Weccea continent was the birth place of Sylph and was always a sacred place even to her previous Entelexia form as Khroma.

"What kind of idiots…," Yuri gritted her teeth, disgusted by what he had heard.

"We should not linger around much longer then, " Judith said, grim expression on her face, "We shall make any necessary preparations tonight and leave early tomorrow,"

She stood and now looked at the Princess and the Knights,

"You can leave it to us to find who the culprit is. As for you though, can you travel to the mentioned Aer Krenes?", she asked, more than a demand than a request, "With the Spirits channeled with you, Estelle, you should be able to evaluate the damage of the Aer Krenes. And Flynn, I hope you can protect her in this journey."

"I think, that is the best way. This may concern the safety of the Empire after all," Flynn nodded.

"Great!" The Krityan sighed, "you will need Ba'ul to travel to these locations. You won't be able to access them with your Imperial craft; he will assist you after he dropped us off at where we think will be the best location to wait for the bad guys…"

"Since one of their operations is to seemingly sucking dry the Aer Krenes and we are already in Nordopolica, why don't we just wait at the one south of here?" Yuri asked.

"That is where we shall go then," Judith nodded.

- tbc


	9. Chapter 7 Wish

In this time of the season, Nordopolica was much colder at night than it was during the day. She wrapped the scarves she wore around her shoulders, and hid her palms underneath the woolen fabric to warm them up. She could see light fogs coming out of her mouth every time she exhaled her breath steadily, the thin clouds disappeared gradually as it dissipated in the cold air.

Estelle was grateful that, at least, the sky was bright – not a single cloud obstructing the dense formation of stars – though the sky was always a bit empty to her ever since the brightest star of all could no longer be seen.

The star of _Vesperia_. The others paled in comparison.

The star, which was actually a blastia, ceased to exist when the Tower of Zaude was activated, and its brilliant light disappeared altogether. That was probably the one thing she regretted the most, a starry night without Vesperia star was incomplete. That night though, her spirit was lifted a notch because she was in a close proximity to _her_ Vesperia. She glanced towards the direction of the port, where _he_ was sitting with Repede - just the two of them as usual. He might just be enjoying the night sky as she was, though she could hardly feel that she was enjoying the view – there was too much on her mind.

Apart from the occasional Knights, some Royal Guards Flynn had brought with him, and a handful of wandering Nordopolica residents, the street was empty.

Estelle closed her eyes and inhaled some more air a bit too quick – the coldness stinging her nose. She coughed and choked a bit, tears forming in her eyes from the unpleasant sensation. After getting her heartbeat and breath under control, she started to walk at the direction of the port.

She had been missing him too much, and regardless of her feelings or Rita feelings, she wanted to have a conversation. Or simply just to hear his voice again.

She was already at the second flight of steps leading down to where the market was when she noticed Judith leaning against a pole. The Krityan was staring at the sky, seemingly talking to Ba'ul.

Finally, Judith noticed her and flashed a smile. Estelle smiled back and her face lightened up,

"Judith. I am so sorry I could not greet you properly earlier," She twiddled her thumbs, "I am so glad you are doing alright… long time no see."

"It's nice to see you too, Estelle," her friend nodded.

For a brief second Estelle stole a glance towards the port where Yuri was. Shades of pink rose to her pale cheek as she realized that Judith noticed it as well and the Krityan looked at the same direction, a knowing smile formed on her face. Estelle stood there, her eyes staring downwards at the wooden planks of the stairs, brooding whether to prolong their idle greetings while her anxious eyes clearly showed she wanted to go to the port that instant.

Sounds of clanking armor and a very familiar footstep were getting closer to where they were. Estelle turned her back to see Flynn walking in their direction; he stopped for a brief moment and smiled at her and Judith politely before continuing to walk towards the port.

Flynn had always been a very dear friend to her, his demeanor and disposition clearly looked upon by his Knights and subordinates. It was a given, being a Commandant that he was, but Estelle wished Flynn would just relax and threw his perfect knightly behavior out the window once in a while. For this reason, she figured Flynn deserved his time out to chat with Yuri more than her right now.

She sighed in defeat as she figured she would not have a private time with the dark-haired main any time soon. Smiling back at Judith, she tilted her head slightly,

"Would you mind keeping me company, Judith?"

"Glad to," Judith replied. Estelle could not help but notice how beautiful and mesmerizing Judith looked in her revealing outfit. No wonder men always stopped short at their paths whenever they saw her.

Estelle positioned herself - leaning against the fence just besides her friend, and fixed her scarves around her neck. She glanced at Judith's attire and wondered if the Krityan had ever felt cold.

"I have been meaning to ask you ever since I found out," Judith started, her eyes darting towards the sea spreading in front of them,

"I know that you have had feelings for Yuri for quite some time…"

Estelle's eyes widened in shock and she quickly looked at her friend, who slowly turned her head to look at her as well.

"How…?"

The Krityan smirked,

"Oh, the power of perception," she shrugged, "My observation of my friends is clearly higher than your oblivious target, anyway," she threw a quick glance at the port, where Yuri was.

At this, she blushed again.

"But from what I heard from Yuri, you seem to be… rather aggressive lately?" Judith spoke slowly, her amber eyes poring into her own emerald ones.

"Has he found out?", she hold her breath, her voice squeaked with nervousness. The least she wanted was the knowledge of Yuri keeping his distance from her because he knew she liked him.

"Don't worry. He is dense as a marble," Judith gave her a gentle squeeze in her shoulder, and she could breath normally again.

"Yes, anyway," the Krityan returned her gaze to the calm ocean, the stars reflected on its surface in a distance. It looked as if some fireworks exploded in the horizon,

"Would you mind telling me your side of the story? I know he is fond of you, but he doesn't seem to understand your reasons. And until a few months back, you were not as flustered as you have been lately, showering him with gifts and….," she sighed, "… trying to turn him into someone he isn't?"

Once again Estelle felt like choking. Thinking now and looking from other people's perspective, of course what she had been doing to Yuri lately was considered intrusive. However the one last thing she ever wanted to do was to burden Yuri. She wondered if that was exactly what she had done despite of her intention,

"I…. want him to be accepted…"

"Oh?," Once again Judith looked at her and raised here eyebrows, "Accepted… by?"

"By the Empire… Urm, I mean, he is a hero of the world, so of course everyone appreciate him for what he has done," Estelle stammered, "But by the council, the Royal family…. Ioder…."

"As I thought," Judith smiled at her, "You would like him to be accepted as part of the Royal Family… as your partner?"

If she could blush more than she already did, she would. She could feel her cheek burning in spite of the coldness,

"Judith... you are amazing... . How could you figure it out...?"

"It is quite easy really, you are a pretty straightforward person," Judith flashed another smile, this time slight pride reflected on her face, "But what's the hurry, though? I mean, you have always liked him, but what's with the rush to get him '_accepted_'?"

Estelle stared into those amber eyes for a few seconds, her friend patiently waited for her to speak. Finally, she sighed and decided to tell her story to Judith, she really need someone to talk to, and she could not really talk to Rita about the matter anymore because Rita had feelings for Yuri as well. She was grateful that at least the Krityan had not shown any love interest in the swordsman - albeit their flirting habit with each other.

She knelt, dusted off the wooden plank she was standing on, and sat on it. Judith slowly followed suit, her head resting on the pole she was leaning against earlier; her eyes on Estelle, still waiting for her.

"The Council and the nobles want Ioder to find a wife," Estelle started, her hands wrapped around her knees, trying to keep warm, "Well, not only Ioder really; me too. But they are mainly concerned with Ioder, him being the most obvious candidate to the throne after all. Right now, though by rank he is considered the highest authority in the Empire, he is still not yet an Emperor."

"I would like him to marry a wonderful woman, too. I am sure he will make a great Emperor and will unify the Empire even more," she added with a sigh. That much she had no doubt about. Her distant cousin was a kind and caring young man, and he cared about the Empire welfare as much as she did - if not more. And she was confident that he would be a wonderful husband.

"And the problem is...?" Judith prompted.

"He told the Council that he will not need a wife and will not even need the official title of the Emperor, as long as he has me to help him running the Empire," she closed her eyes and frowned, "Furthermore, he said that he will only marry only after I find a husband."

Judith darted her eyes towards the sea once more, humming in consideration. She brought her fingers on to her lips, slight frown on her forehead.

"That's why the Council is on to me now to get a husband as soon as possible... . They started offering nobles and their sons to me like some grand food on plates... I have been constantly in marriage meetings arranged by them... Obviously they want someone of the noble status to be my husband," Estelle added softly, sadness radiating from every word spoken,

"Ioder has been really kind to me and tried to persuade them to leave me be and that I should have my own choice for my life partner," she smiled, thinking about his kindness and his trust in her, "But I really want to help him become an Emperor as soon as possible, too..."

"So you obviously have made up your mind about who you want to be your husband," Judith summarized, "You have been trying to perk Yuri up to make him more presentable to those obnoxious nobles at least to ease Ioder's mind... . And you have been hot on his tails because the sooner you guys get together, the sooner Ioder can find a wife?"

Estelle was silent. Judith was amazing in her perceptiveness, the Krityan had even said it better than she could ever do herself.

"Have you talked to Yuri about what he wants though? I mean, aside from the inconvenience of wearing those glittery things and being in the castle would probably bore him to death; what about his feelings?" once again, those amber eyes penetrated her, almost accusing. And for a few seconds, it rendered Estelle speechless,

"I... I have told him... before we all defeated the Adephagos... that I want to live with him... and he said he feels the same way..."

"Estelle, that can mean anything. He wants to live with you, with me, Rita, Karol, Repede, even the old man," Judith sighed, "Or of course he could have meant that he _does_ love you, but you don't know that until you are entirely sure. The only way to be entirely sure is to ask him with a direct precise question. That is the only way to make him aware of your feelings."

She was at lost of words. All this time, she had been fantasizing and assuming things. She was so sure about her feelings, but after just a second ago, she was no longer sure about Yuri's feelings for her.

"I know it is hard for you to comprehend it from other people's point of view, you have always been that kind of person, " Judith smile sympathetically, "I guess it is part of being a princess, once you make up your mind, you always need to go for it and you hardly consider what other people want to do..."

"I... I am sorry," Estelle stammered. She had never been so ashamed before in her life - she was grateful that Judith could point out her flaws, unlike the Council and nobles she encountered in Zaphias everyday. She was reminded how her past ordeals with her power and the Entelexias might have brought inconvenience to Yuri and the others - however they said it was their mission to help her, and help her they did. How she missed traveling with Brave Vesperia.

"That is not what you should be sorry for though," Judith squeezed her hands and gave her a warm smile, "I am more interested in Ioder... . Wouldn't you say he _has_ feelings for_ you_?"

Estelle blinked and looked at Judith as if she was some alien, "Wha...?"

"Well, he gave you that Blue Crystal Rod...," she gestured at the rod Estelle always carried around with her, securely fastened onto her tunic under her cloak. The B.C. Rod was a symbol of Ioder's trust in her to be a vice-emperor - even only in status since there was really no Emperor or vice-emperor titles officially bestowed on either of them yet, "That is always given to a person most trusted by the Emperor."

"Yes, but that is only for the Empire's sake..." Estelle hastily answered.

"That means he knows you are capable. That means he trusts you. Most of all, he cares about you so much that he gave you that Rod for you to use in your travels, albeit the importance of it to the Empire," Judith added, still holding onto her hands,

"From your story, he said he will only marry after you get married. Sounds to me that he will only marry someone else after he loses all hopes in wooing the woman of his choice. Yet he is still giving you the chance to choose your own happiness."

"It is fun to see Yuri as oblivious as he always is, but I tell you this to get you thinking on what you really want, and what is most important to you. Of all people, one of the future leaders of the Empire should not be as dense as our favorite fighter," she chuckled, gesturing towards the port, "Well, if I was Ioder I would just tell it straight to your face about what I want, but I guess people have their own reasons..."

"But... but that is impossible," Estelle blurted out, shaking her head in complete denial. The suggestion was entirely new to her, and she could not even begin to imagine Ioder having feelings towards her in _that_ sense, let alone her to start feeling the same way, "We are cousins... blood related!"

"Oh? I don't think that is strange at all. In the past, Children of the Full Moon have always eloped with the same members of the clan, since they need to preserve the power in their blood. And although Ioder does not have any power the same caliber as yours, since he is of royal blood, he _is_ one of the last descendants of Children of the Full Moon," Judith's gaze shifted upwards towards the sky, once again resting her head against the pole, "And you two are not closely related, blood wise. You are _distant_ cousins, so naturally it will be a perfect match."

Her head began to spin.

"I am sorry, Estelle," Judith sighed softly, noticing the forlorn expression on her face, "I should not have burdened you more... . But if you have time to think about it, please do. And please also consider Yuri's feelings in your decision."

"I understand," she smiled at the Krityan. She never knew that talking could be so tiring, it felt as if all energy had been sucked out of her, "Thank you, Judith. I will think about it. You are the only person who always tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. You are a really good friend."

She wrapped her arms around Judith, and she hesitantly returned her embrace and patted her back. Even though Estelle could not see, she could sense that her friend was smiling earnestly.

Estelle released her hold a few seconds later, and once again her emerald eyes gleamed with excitement,

"Even if Yuri does not feel the same way as I do to him, I still wish Rita the best with her love."

"Rita?" Judith's frown returned to her.

The second she realized she had revealed Rita's feelings to Judith, which she figured that she shouldn't have done without the mage's permission, she felt terrible. The cold air and the recent revelations she had heard must have gone inside her brain and wreaked havoc to it,

"Uh... don't tell anyone, okay?" She bit her lower lips and looked at the Krityan with pleading eyes.

Judith looked towards the direction of the port, then towards the coliseum building - where Rita was -, then towards Estelle. Her smile widened,

"My, my. Interesting. I can see that he is a very popular man... I wonder if I should start liking him...," she teased, then quickly chuckled as she saw the fallen expression on Estelle's face, "Only joking. Of course I will not tell a soul."

"Thank you," Estelle sighed in relief, "Anyway, it is late already and I better get some rest..." she glanced towards the direction of the port, " It seems that Flynn and Yuri will still chat for a while, so I will just save my turn for another time. I don't think I am ready to face him anyway after what I have learned tonight."

She stood up, straightened her cloak and looked at Judith expectantly.

"I will chat with Ba'ul some more. Please go ahead," her friend smiled at her.

Estelle nodded and started walking towards Pallestralle building where they would stay for the night.

* * *

Judith watched the Princess' silhouette disappearing into the darkness,

"Good luck to you, ladies...," then turning her gaze towards the port, she smiled, "... and also to a certain commandant who is still happily ignorant to his own feelings... . And of course good luck to _the_ main object of attraction as well."

Apart from her newest knowledge of Rita's feelings, she could almost be confident about Estelle's feelings towards Yuri - which was confirmed from their conversation earlier. She also noticed Flynn's growing awareness of Yuri that day - and it sure was not the normal friendship they had always have towards each other - as hard as he tried to ignore or deny it. Or he simply just had not realized yet.

She sighed and looked up at the sky. She took out the horn from her waist-pouch and chuckled,

"Ba'ul... it must be the waters in Zaphias... . Everyone I know from there are _all_ unbelievably dense."

She could hear her Entelexia friend howling in the far distance, the soft melody it produced was music to her ears.

- tbc

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**Judith is always kind of a sister figure, isn't she? She can be harsh with her words... she is kinda similar to Yuri in her way of speaking, even more sarcastic sometimes. I winced when she scolded Estelle for being selfish at some points in the game, but all in all, she is concerned about the welfare of the whole party - even Estelle.**

**This is quite a long chapter, please don't get tired in reading it _**


	10. Chapter 8 Touch

"Shouldn't you be resting at the inn?"

Yuri briefly opened his eyes and gave him a smirk. He straightened his body from his initial sleeping position, stretched his arms, and yawned,

"Yeah, well, it's a bit too crowded for me" the dark-haired man shrugged, his fingers subconsciously ran through Repede's fur. The dog whimpered softly and buried his head deeper into his own fur, seemingly annoyed being disturbed from his sleep.

Flynn let out a short chuckle and sat, his back leaning against Yuri's own. He felt more comfortable just listening to Yuri's voice than looking at him in his current female outfit, thus he chose to not sit by Yuri's side. Somehow, looking at Yuri the way he was dressed, gave an impression to Flynn that his friend was a stranger - a person he hardly knew. But when he only listened to his voice, he knew it was always Yuri.

The area was empty and they were secluded from the main port and from other wandering people and knights. Yuri has chosen a narrow unfinished wooden bridge as his resting spot - that Natz was building to extend Nordopolica's port. From where they sat back to back, they could see the horizon spread in front of them, endless ripples of water and sounds of waves overlapping each other.

"Been such a long time since we're together like this…," he closed his eyes.

It felt so comfortable being close to Yuri and Repede – just like the old times. Since becoming the Commandant and ever since Adephagos was no longer a threat to Terca Lumireis, Flynn had hardly seen them around.

Now that they were in such close distance, somehow Yuri's presence became so much stronger than it used to be. This night, whatever odor emanating from Yuri, it was a very pleasant smell – almost intoxicating to him.

His friend smelled of grass field, a musk earthy aroma, reminding him of the small savanna outside Zaphias that they both used to go to when they were still boys, beating each other's path to be the first to reach the field all the way from the Lower Quarters.

A fleeting desire suddenly came to him, urging him to reach out his hand and ran his fingers through those dark tresses. Had Yuri ever smell so good before?

"Yep, a long time," his friend replied after a few seconds and his voice brought him back to his senses. As he recalled his most recent indecent intention, he could feel his cheek grew warm. Flynn was glad that it was dark and they could not see each other's faces with the way they positioned themselves,

"Who's protecting the castle and the little prince when you're away, Flynn?," Yuri asked.

"Master Drake is willing to be re-posted," Flynn replied,

"I am sure he's more than capable and the Royal Guards also look up to him. And please refer to His Majesty Ioder properly, Yuri. He can very well be the Emperor soon." He added with incredulous tone in his voice.

"Meh, details!" Yuri waved his hand, "This is the first time we get to speak after so long and you spend your quality moments lecturing me."

"Can't be helped though," Yuri shrugged once again, and Flynn's body shifted a little from the slight movement,

"You're the Commandant. You have to be in Zaphias constantly. And you have Aurnion to look after, too," he chuckled and dramatically added,

"And I, being the lone wolf that I am, have to roam the world with the mighty guild Brave Vesperia. So do forgive me, my dear friend, for being such an uncivilized man. Alas, being a member of a guild also does not necessarily mean I can have the luxury of visiting my Commandant friend of the mighty Empire."

"You can visit Zaphias and the castle anytime you like if you make a habit of using the front door for once," Flynn snorted, "Don't use that tone, Yuri. It is annoying."

His friend barked a laugh,

"There you go again. The castle without you is not fun, Flynn. Besides, lately being with Estelle is not fun, too," he sighed and muttered, "Though I can't say why everyone is so interested in dressing me up."

Flynn wondered whether he should talk to Yuri about Princess Estellise, about her book and her feelings to him. After all, if Yuri felt the same way about Estellise, that meant Yuri could live in the castle and Flynn could spend time together with him more often. But somehow, the picture did not quite please his mind.

He tilted his head slightly upwards and looked at the countless stars spread across the sky. The rhythm of the sea was calming and he swore he could even hear his own heartbeat, steadily like the sound of drum echoing amidst the silent music. He wondered what kind of melody he would hear if he put his head on Yuri's chest.

His cheek grew hot again and he mindlessly reached out to Repede, stroking the dog's fur to calm himself. The dog though, did not seem to appreciate his intrusion. Repede's eyes flew open and the dog stared at him with annoyed expression, low grunt coming out of him. Repede snorted and strolled a few steps away from where they were, before finding a comfortable spot to continue his sleep.

His left hand was still at the spot where Repede's body was, and suddenly there was another hand on top of his. Flynn almost too quickly turned his body around, too shocked at the sudden contact, when Yuri's body toppled over slowly and his head finally resting on top of his own hand – which was on Flynn's hand. The dark-haired man rolled his body and stretched his other hand and grabbed Flynn's arm in an attempt to draw it into a closer hug.

Flynn hold his breath and examined Yuri's face closely, not daring to move an inch. He slowly exhaled with relief as he realized that his friend seemed to have fallen asleep. He figured that Yuri thought Repede was still close by them, thinking Flynn's arm as the dog's body. Obviously, Yuri was too out of it to even muster his brain to recognize Flynn's armor clad arm was neither soft nor furry.

In such an awkward position, Flynn's muscles began to protest, tension and cramping started to threaten him. His mind though, forced him to stay still, concerned that he would wake Yuri up if he made even just the tiniest movement. He tried to find any view or object to distract him, but in such a position, he kept looking back at his sleeping friend.

How Yuri's chest moved steadily as he breathed,

How Yuri's lips were slightly parted, and soft snoring sound came out of him,

How Yuri's eyelashes were incredibly long, especially from that angle – Flynn wondered why he had never noticed it before, and more importantly why this fact bothered him now.

Shuffling his blond locks with his free hand, he grunted, exasperated at himself. He was glad that at least none of his knights saw him in that state. He was certainly not the perfect Commandant he usually presented himself as.

Looking at Yuri's face again, Flynn started to wonder if this kind of moment was what he had been aching for and liking the idea that he could really get used to it.

And he liked the warm feeling he felt within him.

* * *

The next morning, the three _women_ were off on the Fiertia attached to Ba'ul. Flynn squinted his eyes following the Entelexia's movement until it disappeared in the clouds above.

Turning his back, he was pleased to see that his men were already properly assembled. Sodia was especially sharp and always the perfect second-in-command that she was. She paced back and forth making sure the small group of Knights they had brought along were of proper appearance and attire.

Estellise and the rest of Brave Vesperia's members were killing time looking at various things sold at the market, waiting for Ba'ul to return.

Repede sat by Flynn's side, his eyes still on the sky where Yuri had gone. Flynn gently stroke his fur. For the purpose of the mission, Repede would join Flynn's group, since Yuri could not possibly have him as a traveling companion with his current female status – it might jeopardize the mission.

Last night, after spending a good few hours lending his arm to serve as Yuri's pillow, Repede finally gave in and took after Flynn's role to be the cushion. Flynn decided to stay the night by his best friends' side, somewhere in his heart told him he should spend as much time as possible with them, considering he and Yuri would go their separate ways the next day.

He went back to the inn and borrowed some blankets for the three of them, then returned to the port.

Yuri's outfit was not fitting for the cold weather, and he was sure Repede would also appreciate the extra warmth the blanket would give them.

He could hardly sleep though. He had never found Yuri's presence so distracting before, even though Repede had mindfully placed his body in between the two young men.

At least Yuri had a good night rest.

* * *

They were setting up a tent just outside of the Aer Krene cave – an ancient formation of rocky pillars.

As soon as Ba'ul dropped them off, they rushed to check the condition of the Aer Krene. From the small patch of forest outside, they were relieved to see that none of the environment had been damaged by any human intervention. They could not sense any human presence nearby either. The Aer krene inside the cave was still the same as the last time they went there, almost a year ago before they defeated the Adephagos.

So they decided to wait. If the bad guys were targeting Aer Krenes, surely they would come to this one as well.

Preparing some ingredients for their supper, Rita was inwardly grateful that she was with two of the best cooks in her usual group. She was just chopping some potatoes and washed the raw ingredients as instructed by Judith. The Krityan and Yuri would be cooking after they were finished with the tent.

Judith and Yuri had even finished setting up the fire when she brought the ingredients to them.

"Well, what are we going to eat?," she dusted off a small log prepared by her friends for her to sit.

"I am cooking some Pork Stew. We don't have much meat left, but let's eat big tonight," Judith smiled at her and started to throw the ingredients into the pot she had set on the fire.

"I'll make some Estelle's potato soup," Yuri added, "Since you'll be hogging the fire for quite some time doing that stew, I'm just making something simple."

"Oh? You mean the _vichyssoise_?" Judith raised her eyebrows, "Aren't you just making it because you miss her? It is her specialty after all…"

Rita hugged her knees and curiously looked at the dark-haired man – his face unreadable. He was chopping the potatoes into tiny little pieces, almost a puree. Then he added some milk into the bowl and boiled the mixture in a smaller pan they have brought with them.

"I did not get to speak to her at all, thanks to all the commotion," his eyes were fixated at the fire, "I guess yeah, I kinda miss her."

Rita felt a pang of pain in her chest. She wondered if it was jealousy. Trying to shake the feeling away, she tore her gaze away from Yuri and caught Judith staring at her.

She swore she could see the Krityan smirking at her. Finally after a few seconds that felt like a lifetime, Judith stopped looking at her with that ever secretive smile of hers. She then open the pan lid, seemingly to check her stew,

"Well, I guess you like her, then," she muttered, loud enough to be heard by her two companions.

Yuri frowned, "Well, she is a spoiled little princess, but she's not a bad kid."

The Krityan rolled her eyes, "That's not what I meant," then she sighed,

"Okay, let me ask you a question. For instance; Estelle, Rita, and Flynn are held hostage by a very dangerous guy…. Hm… let's see, someone like Alexei?"

"Alexei's dead," Yuri retorted, much to Judith's annoyance. The Krityan held her hand up, signaling him to keep quiet.

"It is a _hypothetical_ question," she continued, "Anyway, these three _very_ dear friends of yours are held hostage and because Alexei has strapped some explosives to their bodies and only allow you to choose one to be saved; who would you choose?"

"It's a very weird scenario," Yuri protested, "Besides, I can kick Alexei's ass given any time of day."

"Yuri, just answer!" Judith rested her hands on her knees, her body leaning forward and her eyes stern on the swordsman.

"And there is no way Flynn will be held hostage," Yuri snorted, "He'll kick Alexei's ass any given time of day, too."

"I see you have a very high confidence in him," Judith smiled, "But you still have to answer my _hypothetical_ question."

"And why are you not in there anyway? And what about Karol or … the old man?" Yuri frowned.

Even to Rita, the _hypothetical_ scenario was absurd.

"Oh? You will not ever find me being held hostage," Judith tilted her head upwards, slight smug expression on her, "And for the purpose of the scenario, we'll leave Karol and Raven out."

Rita's heart skipped. From the quick glance and smile Judith threw at her again, she knew that the Krityan had an idea about her inclined feelings towards Yuri. Her cheeks grew hot and she knew it was not the fire that caused it,

"Y-you will never find me being held hostage, either," she stammered – partly annoyed, partly embarrassed, partly indignant, "I can kick Alexei's ass, too"

"What if I just kill Alexei? That way, everyone will be saved, right?" asked Yuri.

"Hm…. If you defeat Alexei, he will detonate himself, since he also has some explosives on him. It will kill you, too, since you will be caught in the explosion. And he will also detonate the explosives on one of the hostages," Judith replied, quickly coming up in an instant with a more ridiculous likelihood of events.

"Meh, I can't win?" Yuri asked, "What's the point of this _hypothetical_ stupid scenario of yours? Not only it's an impossible one, it's not something where you can choose a happy ending."

The Krityan did not say anything as feedback, but just keep staring at Yuri - still waiting for his answer.

Rita suddenly found the dry leaves crunched under her boots very interesting. She could not help but feel a bit curious as well. She would like to know where she, and Estelle stood in front of Yuri's eyes; which one of them of the more importance to him. But why Flynn was in the equation, she had not the slightest idea. Probably due to the fact that he was Yuri's best friend.

"Urgh, fine!" Yuri growled and threw his hands in the air, "I have to kill Alexei, so I will kick his ass and give him the most painful death he could ever have."

"But you will die, and one of the hostages will die, too." Judith prompted.

Yuri merely shrugged, "Oh well, at least two will live, right? Better than if I have to choose one. I can die, and whoever die after me can keep me company in hell."

He chuckled, "I am kinda hoping it will be Flynn though, and we both can kick Alexei's ass again in the netherworld."

Without even looking at herself, Rita knew that her face must have changed color. She stood abruptly,

"Idiot!"

Yuri threw a confused look at her. Judith bit her lower lips slightly, and she was almost apologetic. And that made Rita even angrier,

"If it was me and if _you_ are the hostage, Yuri," Rita glared at him, "I will save Estelle before you _or_ Flynn. You and Flynn can have as much fun as you want after you die,"

She took a deep breath, "Oh and don't worry, I will burn Alexei to crisp and send him your way so you can have fun with him, too"

After that, she stormed off into the tent. She was not sure what exactly had made her so mad with Yuri.

Was it because she was not chosen in that stupid scenario?

Was it because Estelle was not chosen?

Was it because really, she and Estelle were of the same status in Yuri's eyes? Neither of them was more important.

Was it because in the end, even when Yuri chose to die and potentially saved both her and Estelle's life, he preferred Flynn's company after all.

She was so confused with her own emotions. It was true though - as ridiculous the scenario might be - if she really had to choose someone to be saved, she would choose Estelle over Yuri.

She hardly gave a damn about Flynn, so that was not rocket science.

She was still unsure of her own feelings to Yuri. If she could choose Estelle over Yuri so easily, then would it not mean that her feelings to him were insignificant even to herself?

Rita decided that her feelings were merely weed. She could easily get rid of it before it grew to be a pest.

She could hear Judith from outside the tent; "I guess she won't be having dinner then… ."

She forgot that she was really hungry until a minute ago. But her pride would not allow her to go back outside for a meal, besides she could still feel her face burning up.

Pulling the blanket over her face and tried to ignore her hunger, she finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning she woke up, she felt a cold steel of blade on her neck.

- tbc

* * *

**R/R please :)**


	11. Chapter 9 Nemesis

Yuri had been alert since around an hour ago, when the sky was still dark and his companions were still blissfully asleep. Or at least Rita was still asleep. He was sure Judith had been as alert as he was, ever since he heard soft rustles and footsteps not far from where they were camping.

In the darkness of the tent - only illuminated slightly by a small torch Rita had invented and brought along with them - Yuri caught Judith staring at him, cross smile on her lips. The Krityan was laying some inches away from him, closer to the very corner of the tent. Her expression told him that she too was aware of the sounds and presence of strangers on the island.

The intruders did not make an effort to be silent, either. Yuri tightened his grip on the sword he held close to his chest as the strangers approached the small forest patch and grass field where their tent was set up. He closed his eyes, pretending to still be sleeping, but his mind was wary. Regardless of his role was going to be, if the strangers bore ill will towards him or his friends, he would be ready.

He counted the seconds ticking away in his brain, until finally the footsteps stopped right in front of their tent. A second later, the tent was torn open. Yuri could not bear to pretend to sleep anymore, and when he opened his eyes, Judith was already sitting - her fingers tightly wrapped around her _Brionac_ – and her eyes darted at each of the newcomers.

Glancing quickly at the other sleeping bag spread behind him, slight incredulous expression crossed his face as he realized that Rita was still asleep – despite of all the commotion.

He withdrew the Abyssion off its sheath quickly as one person walked and pointed a sword at Rita, too close to her neck for his comfort.

Finally the young mage woke up and she slowly sat, analysing her surroundings and her arms slowly reaching out at her spell book placed under the blanket. Her eyes were particularly fixated on the blade still pointed at her, then at Yuri who was now standing behind her attacker, his sword at the person's neck.

"Excellent! We have some more rogue guinea pigs," a coarse voice was heard from behind the bunch of people surrounding them.

For the first time, Yuri could evaluate the intruders more closely. They did not bother to mask themselves or hide their identities and Yuri realized that they were all women – of different builds and sizes. He swore he had seen some of the faces long ago, some occasional acquaintances he had come across daily when he was at Dahngrest – some members of various Guilds he did not know their names. However, the women were stoic in expression; their posture straight and menacing, but their faces were empty and their eyes void of any emotion.

He and Judith exchanged a quick acknowledging look, reminding each other to stay alert.

Then the owner of the voice emerged – a slight young woman with unkempt blue hair. She walked unsteadily, her arms clutching her chest as she took each step. She was probably the only one of the whole bunch who showed any expression at all – she smirked at the three of them, her smile smug and arrogant.

Her appearance was nothing extraordinary – she was wearing a purple black tunic and long pants which almost closely resembled dirty rags. However her demeanour was mostly imperious, it reminded Yuri of the stuck up nobles he used to encounter daily back in Zaphias.

As the woman got closer and Yuri could see her more clearly, he frowned as he tried to recall the familiar face he had encountered before.

"Bring them to the cave!," she stared at the three of them, "it's about time. We need more zombies," she added as she flashed a crooked smile, her eyes glinting, "strong zombies..."

Yuri could not quite make out what she meant, but he could sense Rita tensing up. He bet the young mage was trying really hard to witheld the spell formulas she would always be ready to chant - her small body trembling from her anger.

Well, it was not exactly the ideal surroundings to wake up to in the morning.

The trio followed the strange women into the Aer Krene with swords pointed at their backs, where they saw more people - all females - spread around in the cave. Some of them were setting up a piece of machine, not bigger than a small chair, but still looked complicated to Yuri's eyes. He stopped and tried to work out what the machine was, and the expressionless woman serving as his guard nudged him to move forward by shoving the back of her sword at his back.

Finally, they were brought to a small structure made of metal, which was heavily guarded by yet some other women. The structure was more like a cell, around half the size of his room at the inn in Zaphias. It only had a small barred opening serving as a window, and a door much lower than Yuri's frame - he knew he had to bend very low to get through it.

The guard opened the door and shoved them in, the door locked shut again behind them. After adjusting his eyes to the darkness inside the cell, he saw two Krityans and a man he knew sitting closely at the corner of the room.

The man was dishevelled and dirty, and his clothes were tattered. At the sight of them though, he jumped on his feet with excess enthusiasm,

"_Buon giorno, mon amici_! Long time no see!"

"Professor Sicily," Judith nodded at him, smiling slightly as she evaluated his pitiful appearance. Though chirpy in greetings, the man was painstakingly thin and was hardly the man he used to be in appearance. His bony frame portruded beneath the dirty skin exposed through the tattered shirt.

"Tell us what happened!" Rita demanded, her tone more irritated but Yuri could sense that she too was taken aback.

"Judith," one of the Krityan stepped forward, her face finally visible to them, "I am glad you are safe, but I wouldn't expect any less from you."

Judith gave the Krityan's hands a slight squeeze then turned to Yuri and Rita,

"They are the Krityans that have disappeared from Mt. Temza."

"Yes, and I think we are the only Krityans captured," the other Krityan let out a soft sigh, "The ones outside are all humans. I don't know whether I should be relieved or not."

"It is all my fault," Professor Sicily slumped and rested his head on his knees, his face down and his body trembling.

"Well, you can start by telling us your story then we can decide if it's really your fault or not," Yuri spoke for the first time since entering the cell. He was intrigued and annoyed all the same time,

"What's wrong with those people outside? They are like zombies. They didn't speak, they didn't blink, hell they might not even breath!"

Professor Sicily looked up and looked at Yuri - bewildered, "You are Yuri! _Mon ami_! I thought you were a girl!"

Yuri scowled,

"Glad you remember. Now care to start talking already?"

Judith suddenly put her index finger on Yuri's lips and she hissed, "Someone's coming."

The door was banged open and the blue haired woman's voice boomed,

"You filthy man! Get out! I need my daily dose!"

She ducked her head and sneered inside, particularly at Yuri, "And you will be quite a fine specimen. I can't wait to experiment with you."

Professor Sicily stood and gauntly headed outside the cell, once again the door clammed shut after.

"Can you start by telling us what you know?" Judith asked her Krityan friends. They sat on the rocky floor, backs leaning against the wall,

"You can hardly blame Sicily. He is quite sweet, really," one of the Krityans smiled,

"That woman is just using him to produce these things," she took out a blue stone from beneath her robe - a similar stone they had seen back in Nordopolica - the object radiated faint blue light.

"This alters a person's inner mana, making it invariably lose control. It makes someone incredibly stronger by processing the person's mana into raw power. Unfortunately, the mana input is far greater than the power output."

"Hence it practically sucks people dry," Rita intervened.

"Correct. I see you have seen this object before and know what it could do," the Krityan looked at the young mage, "_You_ have to be particularly careful. It only reacts to humans. We are the only Krityans here because the stone does not affect us. That woman did not take any more Krityans because Sicily has not invented something that would work with our race as it would with humans."

"Honestly... I thought she would still be in Zaphias' jail now...," Judith murmured.

"Yeah," Rita added - annoyed, "What the hell was your Commandant friend doing, Yuri? To have her escaped from the cell! What a poor excuse of a knight."

Yuri frowned, "Do you guys remember her?"

Judith frowned back at him, "It is Mimula."

"Idiot," Rita rolled her eyes and snorted, "She's Cumore's sister. Remember now?"

Yuri's lips formed a slight 'o' as he remembered the woman, then he could feel his anger growing and hissed,

"Truly some bad blood they have."

"Well... whatever is becoming of her, she is one freak of a nature," Rita looked through the barred window then shifted her body and gestured at Yuri, prompting him to look outside.

Mimula was standing by the crater, various cables strapped to her body from the machine he saw earlier. She had her top shirt opened, revealing her bare breasts and body, but that did not interest Yuri one bit.

Instead, he was disgusted with what he saw.

There were about five or six stones portruding from beneath her skin, making her body literally gleaming with the blue light when the stones were activated by the machine - Sicily working on some buttons and levers to work the device. The aer from the crater were sucked consistently into the stones and into her, Yuri could see her eyes glinting with madness as the blue lights surrounded her.

"The stones would suck people dry - except her," came a voice from behind him, explaining again, "She has been absorbing the Aer into her body to substitute the mana she lost by having the stones embedded in her. The Aer Krenes have the purest form of Aer - closest to a person's mana. We have been to Relewiese Hollow and Keiv Moc to get the Aer, too"

Judith lowered her head, saddened at her friend's explanation. Being one of the ancient race and a close acquaintance to Entelexias, Yuri could tell the revelation was hard for her to digest.

"What about the other humans?" Rita asked

"Well, she would just dispose them when their mana are spent."

"The merchant Kaufman found," Yuri gritted his teeth.

"The stones don't only alter the mana, they also affect the mind of the host," she added, "When the stones gradually deplete their mana, the easier they get controlled. With that machine, Mimula would inject some Aer into them once in a while to keep them under control, but once they are past their due dates, they would be disposed. If they don't get the occasional Aer injection, they go mad, and finally lost themselves altogether."

"You see, Sicily invented this by chance when he was researching on the ruins back in Mt. Temza," her companion spoke in turn, "He found some ancient scripts about the Blastia invented long ago, and managed to create a medium to channel the mana."

"To actually been able to produce something remotely similar to Blastias," Rita folded her arms and stared at the floor, "I hate to admit it, but that guy is a genius."

"He would have used his research to build Mt. Temza to be a beautiful town once again. But then Mimula and her companion got to him first before he could perfected his invention."

"His companion?" Yuri frowned.

"Do you think it was Sebastian?" Judith asked.

"I am not sure of his name..., " her friend pondered, "He is always hooded, and he is quite strong. The last time I saw him was when we were at Relewiese Hollow. I think he's quite upset with Mimula since he has not been able to use the stone for himself."

"The stone does not work on males," Rita nodded.

- tbc

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**Guess who the hooded man is... as always please review. Much much appreciated an it certainly motivates me. Well, apart from some unnamed (and highly insignificant) new characters, I use pretty much the very same characters from the game side quests etc. Call me unoriginal. LOL.**


	12. Chapter 10 Power

"I know I don't have the right to say this, _mi ami_," the Professor sighed, his eyes on Yuri – looking regretful, "But do you want to choose which part of your body this stone will go to?"

The dark-haired swordsman was sitting on the floor and looked at the stone in Sicily's palm. He snorted in disgust,

"It's not going to harm me anyway, right? Just put it wherever you want!"

He was not thrilled of the fact that he would be sliced open to allow himself to act as the host to that stone – embedded in him – for a period of time.

He hardly had a choice. Mimula had ordered the Professor to put the stone in him just as she had the old man done to herself and her other subordinates.

Yuri winced slightly as Sicily took out a small knife from his pocket.

"Then I will just put this in your arm…"

Yuri tightened his grip of his sword as the knife made its first contact on his left arm and swiftly made an opening, blood trickling freely down and around the floor. The wound inflicted was quite wide, probably about the size of his palm – it would surely become a scar. He wondered if Flynn would scold him again for being reckless.

As the stinging sensation hit him, he groaned, trying to make as little sound as possible. The most important thing was to still not give away of the fact that he was actually a man. The wall of the cell was quite thin and if he made some ruckus, there would be chances that Mimula figured there was another man apart from Sicily in the cell.

Judith's fingers were wrapped around his right hand, trying to give him at least some comfort. He noticed that Rita too was kneeling by his side, her face was anxious. He smiled inwardly at the apparent concern his friends expressed; and for a brief second, the pain was gone.

It hit him again as the cold stone was pushed into him, further into his flesh. He gritted his teeth and glared daggers at Sicily, who was engrossed in getting the stone at the right position in him, twisting it and pinching the skin around it - to make sure the exposed flesh and skin fully enclosed the object.

If it were not for the stupid mission, he would already knock the old man cold.

The stitching after was not too bad; at least he knew the worst part was over. The two Krityans were quite crafty in closing up wounds, though he wished he had Estelle to give him some dose of relief from the still throbbing pain with her healing artes.

He would not even mind taking all the _Love Shots _Raven could give him.

"Do I really need to have _that_ in me, too?" Rita trembled slightly, her eyes still on Yuri's right arm, where the wound was now closed. Judith was cleaning the blood on him.

Yuri tilted his head and examined the bump on his arm, where the stone was now in. The stone was put just under the surface, and he could see the faint blue light radiated through his skin.

It looked disgusting.

"Give me a bodhi blastia anytime…," Yuri scowled under his breath. At least with the blastia, he just need to wear it, _not_ contain it. He tilted his head and threw a forced smirk at the mage,

"I'll try to satisfy our dear captor so you don't have to wear the stone, Rita."

"The stone would work as long as it makes contact with the skin or flesh directly," Sicily explained, "But it won't work like the old blastia where you can just attach it to an accessory you could wear. Sorry I had to cut you, Yuri. Mimula won't have it any other way."

His eyes were downcast, "This is not perfect… . If I have more time to research, I'm sure I'll get my invention closer to how the blastia was…"

"But it won't work on him, right?" Judith asked, still not tearing her gaze away from Yuri's wound. At least now, the wound was clean.

"No, it shouldn't. _Non ti preoccupare_!" he shook his head, "I have tested it numerous times with men. None of them worked. Mimula is disappointed with that fact. After all, men would have more power than women…"

"I have to pretend that it works, though," Yuri frowned, "I guess I have to push myself harder than usual so she doesn't find out that it doesn't work on me."

"She usually tests her new soldiers a few hours after the stone is inserted," one of the Krityan spoke, while cleaning her fingers on her clothes from Yuri's blood smeared on her when she stitched the wound,

"You should take this chance to rest up. When the sun sets, she'll come for you."

Yuri shrugged and dragged himself to the corner and shut his eyes. He had been getting headaches since he had the stone in him, his head throbbing every few seconds in response to the contractions he felt around his arm. He was feeling kind of numb elsewhere but figured it was just a side effect of the pain. If he could, he would just kill Mimula when the damned woman test him later. He could work out an excuse for Flynn for killing yet another criminal... .

It was not long before he drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Flynn finally arrived at the very bottom of Relewiese Hollow, where the Aer Krene was supposed to be at. Karol, Raven, and Princess Estellise had been his guide, leading him and his Knights through the maze-like hill all the way down.

At least fighting the monsters in the area was not a major problem. The Brave Vesperia boss was quite a fighter for his age, and Flynn did not even have to worry about the ex-Captain. Raven could dance his way around the enemies without even straining himself in the least.

All he had to focus on was protecting the Princess; and most of the time, him and Repede were enough in doing the task. Even when they did get the occasional cuts, Estellise would heal them promptly.

Sodia, Witcher, the Schwann brigade, and his handful of Royal Guards did not disappoint either. Rather than the monsters, he found the loud wind bellowing from every corner of the path more annoying.

The group was just around the corner to the entrance of the spring, where he could hear unmistakable sounds of people fighting from inside the cave.

Were there still some criminals in the cave? Had they not left this location and gone to another Aer Krene? Had Yuri finally met some of the criminals by now? Was he going to be okay?

Shaking the questions off his head, he drew his sword off its scabbard once again and threw a quick glance at his Knights, prompting them to stay alert.

Karol was one of the firsts who entered the cave and reached the center of the spring where the Aer Krene was located. As how Estellise and Sylph had described before, the Aer Krene was dry. The cave was nothing more than a barren normal hollow you would find in mountains, this one was even in sorrier state – dry plants and dead flowers strewn around the area, some dirty rags, he could even spot some dry corpses further down the rocky path.

Apart from his surroundings, his eyes were focused on two men fighting in the cave.

Or rather – one tried to fight; the other was simply just avoiding the attacks.

"_Infernal Lord!_" one of the men bellowed and clawed forward at his opponent. The man's face was partly disguised under the hood he wore around his head.

His opponent once again swiftly dodged the attack and gracefully stepped aside, his long white hair swayed against the wind.

"Tison!" Karol gasped and shouted loudly.

Still with his fists in the air - ready to launch another attack, the hooded man stopped in his tracks and finally realized their presence.

"Duke!" came a short soft murmur from behind Flynn. When he turned his head slightly, he saw Sylph materializing by Estellise' side. The wind spirit flew forward towards the white haired man.

"What are you doing?" the spirit sounded rueful.

"Khroma," Duke nodded and spoke in deep voice. Though his face was unreadable, a hint of fury flowed through his words,

"I really think it was a mistake to save Terca Lumireis for the humans."

Flynn then realized that the other three spirits had also materialized alongside Sylph.

"Old friend," Undine spoke softly, "Tell us what bothers you."

"Tison, no!" Karol sprang forward and put himself between the spirits and the hooded man who had leapt forward for yet another attack.

"They are all monsters!" Tison hissed, stopping just inches in front of Karol.

"No they are not!" Princess Estellise was now standing besides Karol with her arms stretched sideways, trying to protect the spirits too,

"They are the spirits of Terca Lumireis; and they are also the ones who saved our world. Why don't you understand?"

"Monsters are monsters!" Tison spat again, "You are a fool, Karol!"

He pointed at duke, "This man aided the monsters. He is one of them."

"Tison, are you mad?" Karol pleaded, "Nan and Clint are so worried about you. I know you said that you want to go to hunt the Giganto monsters. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Without the bodhi blastia, it is impossible to get rid of the monsters," Tison gritted his teeth, "And just when I thought I have found a way to make myself stronger…."

"_Dullahan_!"

Karol and Estellise were knocked aside by the arte and it was all Flynn could do to leap forward to catch her – from the corner of his eyes he also saw Raven swiftly caught Karol's flying body - but he was not quick enough to block Tison's attack against the spirits.

Duke though – with what seemed to be some kind of teleportation skill – put himself in front of the spirits and grabbed Tison's arm and twisted it backwards. The man groaned in pain.

"I should kill you now," Duke tightened his grip.

A tiny object slipped through Tison's clenched fingers and Duke quickly caught it with his free hand. With his grip loosening, Tison used the chance to free himself up and leapt backwards - away from Duke's attack range.

Duke slowly raised the tiny object to examine it – a stone with dull blue light just some seconds ago – but in his hand, it brightened almost to a blinding white to Flynn's eyes.

The white haired man's eyes widened and he quickly threw the stone away.

It flew towards the Knights' direction and Witcher managed to catch it. The mage handed it over to Flynn.

When he hold it, it returned to that dull blue light once again.

"You can have it," Tison snorted in disgust, "It is useless for me."

"How did you get the mana stone?" Duke asked him, his eyes glinting with apparent fury.

"Duke… the stone reacted to you," Sylph murmured in concern.

"I don't have to answer to a monster like you," Tison spat and started walking towards the exit. Flynn swiftly pointed his sword, stopping him in his tracks,

"You have to answer to me!" he commanded, "Are you the one behind the abduction of the Guild members and some of the Empire Knights?"

Karol stammered, "N-no way…. Tison?"

The Knights also formed a circle around Tison, all swords pointed towards him. He had no way out.

He barked a broken laugh,

"You have some nerves, Empire dogs! Though I have to say, if you want your dearest _alpha_ dog to stay alive, you better scram to Zaphias now," he mocked, "I am not the one behind this. I just want to be stronger. The stone does not work on me, but it works on countless other people, including Mimula. And they are _very very_ strong."

"Mimula?" Flynn frowned.

"Cumore's sister?' Raven exchanged glances with the Princess as they recalled the name.

Sodia stepped forward without lowering her sword still pointed at Tison,

"Sir, she is the sibling of the ex-captain Cumore. She was jailed until roughly eight months ago when she was released," she explained, "Her nobility status had been strapped off her and all her assets and property had been seized by the Empire law as punishment for her vendetta plans."

Raven groaned, "She should be jailed for life!"

"The damn stone only works on petty women," Tison snorted, "And I thought I could get myself stronger with it and finally can get rid of all the monsters," he threw another hateful glance towards the spirits.

"She is trying to overthrow the Empire," Flynn finally realized, "We should hurry back to the Empire now and protect His Majesty Ioder."

"But… what about Yuri?" Estellise said, "He should be able to stop her, right?"

"That is assuming Judith, Yuri, and Rita cross path with Mimula," Flynn's lips curled, "If they do, I am confident Zaphias is safe. Even if they don't, the Empire Knights will stop her."

"Yuri Lowell?" Duke asked.

"The kid's investigating the culprits behind this," Raven gestured his hand around the cave, "He's at the Aer Krene south of Nordopolica. That's where we thought Mimula's group were heading next."

"Duke. Are you done?" another voice was heard from the darkness of the cave, and finally Flynn saw a man – looking not older than Duke himself – with dark auburn messy hair. But with all the mysteries surrounding Duke, he would not have a clue of both men's actual age.

Flynn was more bewildered of the fact that he could not sense the man's presence all the time he's inside the cave.

The man was clearly an adept fighter. He wore a dark blue shirt and matching cloak and pants. His sword was attached to his belt.

As he stepped out of the darkness completely, Flynn could see he had eyes of similar color to Duke – amber cold eyes, almost expressionless. Whether he was friend or foe, Flynn could not tell, but his mind was set on bringing Tison to the capital for further interrogation as well as protecting Ioder.

Duke nodded, then spoke to the spirits,

"If Yuri Lowell is with the person who has more of those cursed stones," he gestured at Flynn and the stone in his hand,

"You have to prepare yourself."

"Is this related to how the stone was reacting to you?" Efreet asked.

The white haired man simply let out a soft grunt in response. He turned his back and disappeared into further depth of the cave with his companion.

Flynn was relieved of the fact that at least they did not have to fight those two. He did not know how he would fare against a man hailed as the hero of the Great War – let alone to add the other stranger who was clearly not going to be an easy opponent as well.

Karol stammered softly - his words inaudible - and took out a thick book from his bag. He quickly flipped through the pages, towards the very end of the book.

"Why are you checking the monster book, Karol?" Princess Estellise bent her body to examine the page Karol was reading.

They both gasped shortly afterwards.

"That man…," Karol lifted his head, staring at the darkness where Duke and the stranger had gone to, "... is the _traitor to heaven_?"

- tbc

* * *

**lunat1's note:**

**Sorry... couldn't help it. D:**

**When I fought Kratos again in the Labyrinth of Memories weeks ago and in the colliseum as well, I just have to have him in my fic. He's too cool to be left out and since he appears in the game, I consider him already as a part of Tales of Vesperia.**

**Yea, Lloyd... gotta borrow your daddy, ok? I'm sure Duke appreciates him more than you do... _*cackles*_**


	13. Chapter 11 Struggle

_Where was Repede? _

_It was unusual for him to fight alone, not that he mind – this monster was weak. Why would he need any help? He wondered briefly why he was suddenly interested in the whereabouts of his canine companion._

_He leapt sideways, avoiding another attack; then swiftly stepped his right foot forward to deliver yet another cut. The blow finally stopped the monster in its track, finally succumbing to its inability to support its body anymore. He could hear the beast growled softly and finally let out a low whine as it grew relatively still._

_Too easy._

_He swung his blade aside to clean the thick red liquid staining the blade - the beast's blood. Flicking his long hair with the back of his hand, he smiled as he relived the pleasant sensation when his blade pierced through the monster's body, even cutting through its bones, the snapping sound music to his ears._

_Abyssion was a very good sword, indeed. It cut through anything._

_The feeling was exhilarating_

* * *

His eyes darted quickly from one and to another aggressor surrounding him. The mindless fighters had formed a circle around him, analysing his strength with blades pointed towards him.

He wondered if he should make the first move.

The night was pitch black outside the Aer Krene. Even the stars were hiding behind the heavy clouds. The only lights he could see were the blue lights emanating from the people present – including himself. The blue lights were his only cue to locate his opponents, their steps and stances changed every few seconds or so, as they continued to circle him in what looked to him like a silent monotone dance.

This was going to be his test.

Some of these people were Guild members, held against their will to do Mimula's bidding. He had some encounters with them in the past, not bothering to know them by first name basis, but still regarded them as fellow town folks of Dahngrest.

He wondered how he could free these people from Mimula and the stone's influence without inflicting any mortal wound on them.

He wondered if it would be possible at all, especially when the very same people now radiated pure intent to kill towards him.

Too much wondering made his head throbbed even more.

The mastermind of the whole thing was sitting on a large rock a couple of hundred metres away; her own body radiated the brightest blue.

She was a freak – Yuri inwardly grunted – should have killed her ages ago.

Bad blood - those two siblings - Cumore and her. Good riddance the ex-captain was now buried beneath the sand; far away from any chance of him inflicting harm on other people, should he still be alive.

One of his opponents finally took the initiative to launch the opening attack – a fire spell arte curiously similar to Rita's tamer version of Meteor Storm. She did not even bother to take the time to cast her spell, let alone announcing the name of the arte – a normal trait usually done by spell and arte casters to channel the energy.

She belonged to the Mercenary Guild, no doubt.

Yuri leapt, ducked, and stepped away avoiding the fallen fiery rocks materializing in the air, trying to make his way closer to the mage. His experience told him to always get rid of the spell casters first.

But everyone else seemed to attack him all at once. He could not just run around and simply avoiding attacks. The physical fighters were adept – whether or not the stone contributed to the fierceness of their attacks.

He cursed under his breath as another spell was casted by yet another mage – also silent this time, bringing forth spiky stones from underneath the ground right below him. One of them grazed his left leg.

He quickly counted the spell casters – it was hard to tell the numbers due to the darkness, but he figured out the idle blue lights would represent the mages. After all, to cast their spells, they need to stay still.

Probably about five to seven in total. Although their spells were not individually as powerful as Rita's; combined together, they would be _very _dangerous. Not to mention their abilities to quickly cast their spells one after another.

Yuri had to fight back if he wanted to defeat these people, let alone getting closer to Mimula. Finally getting ready with his stance to launch his own arte, he frowned as he could still feel the numbness in his left arm.

Why didn't he ask Sicily to _not_ put the blasted stone in his sword-wielding hand?

Mindlessly lifting the Abyssion as he gathered whatever energy he could muster to launch a base arte he had used many times before; a spike of blue light emanated from the tip of his sword, launched in a straight line towards his attackers.

_Azure Edge, _this time it knocked three of the moving blue lights away from him.

Avoiding yet another falling boulder from the sky, he quickly leapt in the air and in what looked like to be a choreographed sword dance – _Shining Dragon Swarm_.

Another two lights were blown away from where he was at. Another one - _Final Gale_ - a few more fallen by the arte as its range impacted on all the women standing in his line of attack.

He liked Final Gale. It felt as if he was not fighting alone, the arte would take down all enemies in its attack line - he felt like Flynn was there after he executed the arte, where his blond friend would launch a follow up attack on the other enemy right behind Yuri's target. Not to mention, that was the arte they perfected together; the arte Flynn helped him to master.

But their numbers were not diminishing. He felt the rage building up in him, why was this battle so difficult? He was more in sync when he was in the 100 men melee – or even the 200 men melee – back in Pallestralle. He had not been this frustrated in a fight before.

Taking a chance of a second where he was not bombarded by any spell arte, he quickly launched his burst arte.

_Divine Wolf Flood._

The water induced sword attack struck some more opponents, sending them flying for a second in the air before hitting the ground.

On the back of his mind, he was curious as to how his artes seemed to be working _very _effectively against multiple opponents that night.

Only a few steps away from one of the spell casters; then a bright light came at him in lightning speed. The next second he knew, he was blown away, then his back made a hard contact with a tree – sending it trembling and dry leaves falling on to him. Following the impact was that familiar throbbing pain in his head he had been experiencing lately. He tried to shrug it off.

As the light diminished slowly, he quickly looked at the caster – Mimula – who was standing there, smug and crazed expression on her face. She stood in the midst of her other subordinates – none of them sprawling on the ground from his barrage of attacks earlier. Yuri did not even know since when Mimula had been standing there. The last time he checked, she was still idly sitting a distance away.

When, and how did she acquire her power anyway? She was not the all-talk-but-coward Cumore she had as a brother; though their minds were incredibly of the same shallow level.

_Damn_ Sicily and his invention.

He needed his friends if he ever wanted to defeat this bunch.

"I like her," she said – to none in particular -, "She's far better than most of you."

Yuri realized that Mimula had not found out his actual gender, and he was relieved at that. If he wanted to have a chance to bring this woman to the ground, he needed fighting allies.

Judith, Raven, Karol, Repede,.... and Flynn as melee fighters; Estelle and Rita to take care of the annoying mages; or the other way around or combined - it would not matter.

From the look of things – how his opponents did not even show any sign that they had been wounded by him – he would even wager that he need the Imperial Knights, too.

He did not feel any pain in particular, as he examined the cuts he had received from his earlier fight, while making his way towards the Aer Krene, following Mimula and the others. He had earned the right to not sleep in the cell along with Judith and Rita, since he was considered one of Mimula's slaves already.

At least his show was enough for her so she did not harm Judith or Rita. He would not want Rita to be controlled by her and the stone – she would be a very dire enemy. He was grateful that he did not slip shouting his artes like one normally would when they fight; it was actually easier to attack silently and quickly, like the women did. Why couldn't he do that before?

Yuri laid his head on one of the moss-covered rocks, the Abyssion close to his chest as usual. His ears picked up bits and pieces of commands Mimula was reviewing to her other underlings - what would seem likely to be an ambush on the capital. Even when she turned mental, her ambition to become the highest authority in the Empire had not changed.

The capital and the castle would be heavily guarded, no doubt. Ioder should be safe. Besides, there would be the Royal Guards - even if Flynn had not arrived back in Zaphias from his own mission in investigating the dry Aer Krenes. He would find a chance to free Sicily and the Krityan hostages; and could definitely use Judith and Rita's help to defat the mob.

Thought it was hard for him to admit, he could not defeat them by himself.

But maybe if he went to sleep now, he would enter a fight where he would win, just like before.

The feeling of tearing apart the monster in his dream with his blade .... was .... satisfying

* * *

_He need to kill another beast. Why had he gotten so bloodlust lately?_

_Leaving his previous victim's corpse behind, he ran through the maze-like pillars. The structure of the ruins were confusing, and there seemed to be something lurking at every corner._

_Bring it - he would not mind one bit. Whoever got in his path would be unlucky._

_The depressing brown and grey color of the maze only intensified his urge to kill. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted a slight movement - two - three of other creatures._

_Excellent. Another fight, this time it would be him - one - against many. But it would not matter; The Abyssion would not fail him._

_He would meet the monsters head on - why would he need to make the extra effort to sneak in an attack when he knew he would definitely win._

_He smirked as his opponets sighted him. He could see the horror reflected on those eyes. They did not even have the chance to retaliate._

_The Abyssion swiftly cut through one the opponent's legs._

_Ah, the beautiful sound of flesh ripping apart, the anguished incoherent sound they made as it dawned on them there was no getting out of this fight alive._

_He swung his blade again, this time cutting the nerves of the other opponent's neck; then swiftly jumped and turned his grip to strike the last one still standing._

_In what seemed to him like only a few seconds, he finally landed and stepped firm on the ground, his heart thumping wildly from the adrenaline rushing through him. _

_A voice was heard from behind him - a very familiar voice, "Yuri, what have you done?"_

_He turned his back and saw Flynn - his face white as a ghost - his eyes full of questions, confused and alert. Yuri cocked his head sideways, inspecting his surrounding._

_The Abyssion was dripping with blood. Around his feet, were familiar faces with their eyes wide opened in shock - very much dead, but frozen in that last expression they made before the Abyssion took their lives._

_Rita was on the cobblestone covered floor, her broken limbs twisted unnaturally, her neck cut open. The choker she normally wore were by her head, snapped loose when the blade made contact with her skin, and now soaked red with her blood._

_Karol was half-leaning against a pillar, his eyes wide, his arms dangling by his body - motionless. Blood flowed from multiple slash wounds all over him, staining his clothes._

_Estelle was spread in front of Karol, in what seemed to be her last attempt to protect the young boy, but herself sporting the mortal wounds the other two also had. Her right leg was deeply cut by the ankle, it was almost separated from her frame. Blood flooded freely around their dead bodies, and it stained Yuri's boots._

_Flynn slowly took his own sword off its scabbard, his azure eyes shone with bewilderment. Yuri threw him an incredulous look and grinned. _

_The dark-haired man leapt forward, gaining momentum for a full speed charge towards his friend._

_It was time for another kill._

------------------------- tbc

**lunat1's note:**

I should have put this in the beginning of this chapter, but that's OK ... I hope.... I'm changing the rating to M from now on due to obvious more depressive note and (going to be continuous) graphic content.


	14. Chapter 12 The Calm

As soon as she arrived in Zaphias, she ran as fast as she could towards the castle, Flynn following her not far behind.

The capital was still bustling with its usual daily activities, nothing seemed out of ordinary. Sodia, and Leblanc had started assembling their Imperial Knights force, as well as assigning more guard duties for the citizen quarters. Raven had the exclusive authority to also command his old brigade as he saw fit, but the first thing he did as soon as he arrived was locking Tison in the cell and assigned extra guards on him. He also sent a messenger to Dahngrest to inform Harry and the Hunting Blade's leader of the latest occurences. After all, Tison was part of the Union and the Empire did not have the right to interfere in any of the Union's members' criminal deeds.

Flynn especially instructed Sodia to assign enough forces to protect the Lower Quarters, while he himself assigned more Royal Guards in the castle to protect the Royals and council members.

Ioder had just stepped out of the board room, after yet another daily meeting he had with prominent members and representatives of the council, nobles, and middle, and even lower quarters.

After quickly saying hello to Hank - the representative chosen for the Lower Quarter, Estelle quickened her pace and threw herself into her surprised cousin's arms, tightly wrapped her own arms around him and completely ignored other people's reaction. She could hear disapproving murmurs of the nobles, something along the line of her unbecoming demeanour as one of the Royals.

"Estellise, welcome back," Ioder stammered slightly, not quite composing himself yet from the unusual greeting he had just received.

He nodded politely at Flynn who gave him a salute, and then finally trying to calmly free himself from Estelle's embrace.

Estelle turned to face Flynn, "Flynn, I will tell Ioder what happened. Please don't worry about me," she added with a smile, "You can do whatever you need to do."

Flynn gave them another salute before heading back to the Knights quarter, as well as escorting Hank back outside the Castle.

"You are back early," Ioder smiled at her while they were heading towards Ioder's private chamber. As they arrived and stood in front of the door, the guards stationed outside saluted them before one of them opened the door for them to come in. Ioder waited for her to get in first before following her.

Estelle scanned the room with critical eyes. Ioder's room was alway tidy, but it somehow lacked of color, or even minor decorations. It reminded her almost of Flynn's room. The Commandant's chamber was also too organized for her liking, none of the furnitures inside were spared of their functions. If any of them was not of some use to the occupant, then it would not be there. The two men shared not only the similarity of having blond hair, but even their demeanour was too orderly-like.

Actually, she used to be like that too, until she met Yuri.

She bit her lower lip bitterly as she remembered the dark-haired man. Was he alright? Had he run into trouble? However Yuri had always managed to got himself out of hot water everytime he landed in one, with or without her help. So she should not be worried.

And she was in Ioder's room not to reminisce about the swordsman.

Ioder sat himself on a big leather covered chair behind his study desk. Paperworks and various archfiles were piled neatly on the desk, obviously part of the package of being the Empire's leader. Located behind the chair and fixed to the wall was a big shelf, containing many books and journals.

One thing in common she shared with her cousin: their love of books.

"How was the meeting?" Estelle asked nonchalantly while observing the shelf, trying to find a new book that might pique her interest.

"Oh, the usual," Ioder sighed, burying his head in his arms that he rested on his desk. Estelle looked over her back and smiled. Only with her, her cousin could seem to relax himself and opened up much like a very close friend would.

"But you are not here to hear about the meeting," he continued, not lifting his head, his voice slightly mumbled by his arms.

Estelle walked around the side of the desk and leaned her body, slightly sitting at the edge. She supported her weight with her palms affixed on the desk, her eyes now focused on the bright sky she could see outside the window just besides the bookshelf.

"Zaphias may be attacked soon," she slowly said. Ioder lifted his head abruptly and even without looking at him, she could feel his gaze on her, demanding explanation.

"We didn't get to go to Keiv Moc to see the Aer Krene there," she said, turning her head slightly so she was looking straight at Ioder's eyes, "We had to go back here straight after Releweise Hollow because we received a very prominent lead on possible threat on Zaphias."

She left out her encounter with Tison on purpose since she deemed it unnecessary - Ioder could do without having to worry further about the impact this would cause on their already estranged relationship with the Union. She also left out the bit that Ioder would be the attacker's main target. She had two men that she trusted with all her life to ensure her cousin would be safe. One was the Commandant, the other one was a rogue knight, but very much concerned with the wellbeing of the capital himself.

"And you don't seem to especially worried about this fact," Ioder frowned. He knew very well that Estelle's sense of duty in Zaphias was on par with himself, and the fact that she could talk about this threat on the capital lightly, meant she was convinced that it would not be such a big deal. And if it was not going to be such a big deal for her, usually a certain man would be involved.

"Yuri is also taking care of this matter even as we speak, isn't he?" said the blond man, letting out an accusing smirk as he spoke, lightly teasing her.

Estell blushed, but a second later lost her color. She suddenly remembered her conversation with Judith back in Nordopolica - how the Krityan thought that her cousin would have an inclined feeling towards her. She should watch what she said around Ioder, the last thing she wanted to do was hurting his feelings.

Ioder seemed to be alarmed by her sudden silence. He slowly raised his hand and reached forward, brushing aside some loose pink hair on her face. She jerked backwards at the sudden touch and stepped away from the desk; her palm unconsciously wondered on her face, where Ioder's hand was just a second ago.

She cursed inwardly as she noticed Ioder's hurt expression, which was quickly replaced by his usual calm facade.

So much for not wanting to hurt him, she thought.

Ioder walked slowly towards the window, turning his back on her. He seemed to observe the scenery outside,

"You have never reacted that way around me before, Estellise," he spoke softly, lifting his head slightly on an angle that she could observe his side profile. Ioder looked almost luminiscent under the sunlight, she noticed. He had hardly ventured outside Zaphias, the trips he made were always tied to the Empire's matters, not on personal account. His skin was pale due too much staying indoors - her own skin was even slightly darker than him.

"Look at those birds, Estellise!" Ioder pointed at the sky. She took a step forward closer to the window and stood a few inches behind her cousin. Outside, a flock of birds migrating from the south were on the sky - they were heading towards the north to reach warmer continents and hopefully mated and raised their youngs in lushful greeneries of spring blessed areas.

"Estellise, I will never want you to be in a cage," Ioder's eyes were now on her, bitterness reflected on those blue orbs - the very color of the sky.

"You should be able to go wherever you want to, with whoever you want to be, just like those birds," he added, "Not chained and bound in a golden cage named the Empire."

"If that is what you wish, I will do my utmost to make it come true for you," he smiled - a very sincere smile that ached her heart. His words were smooth and confident, there was not a single doubt and ambiguity in them. But Ioder's kindness made her tears threatening to fall. She did the only thing she thought would hide them: she rested her head on her cousin's shoulder. She was free to go wherever she wished to go, but Ioder could never do that. He was bound and owned by the Empire. One of them need to do it, and Ioder threw himself in the role, granting her freedom she would never have otherwise. He was wise beyond his age, and she did not have the slightest doubt of his ability to rule the Empire.

Even without saying, she knew Judith was right all along. She did not know whether her gestures right now would hurt Ioder even more, but the only comfort she could give him was her company whenever she could.

* * *

They have docked their ship by the mountains west of Zaphias, far away from the tight security posted around the port. It had been two days since they left the Aer Krene, leaving it very much dry since Mimula had absorbed whatever Aer she could get from the cave. Not only it was for her and her subordinates' supply of energy, the Aer was also needed to run the ship, much to Yuri's amazement. The ship could hover easily over the waters - not quite as high as Ba'ul would when he was in the sky - but enough for their purpose nevertheless. It was one of Sicily's inventions as well, no doubt.

They had arrived on the break of dawn, and Mimula decided to wait until nightfall before heading towards the capital. It would be easier to attack in the dark.

Yuri was restless. While the rest of the group were calmly preparing themselves for the ambush ahead - though their faces were very much void of any emotion still - he could not seem to sit still. Not only he was feeling strangely nervous, his headaches were getting worse by the second. He could not even sleep for the past couple of days, since he seemed to be greeted by horrid nightmares everytime he closed his eyes.

He clenched and unclenched his fist, staring at his own knuckles. Even though those were just dreams, the smell of blood was very real.

The sensation of killing the monsters were very real.

The adrenaline rush was real.

His elated feelings as _he_ killed his friends in the dreams ... were... very real.

And Flynn was in the dream, too. His best friend - one of the people he considered he would trade his own life for - he _killed_ his own best friend in his dreams. He would wake up shortly afterwards, his heart thumping wildly as he recalled those azure eyes staring at him and finally lost their shines altogether. Then he would drifted himself to sleep again, and the scene would replay itself over and over again.

Yuri rolled his eyes wildly and ran his fingers through his hair. It was impossible to speak to Judith or Rita, since they were heavily guarded still. He glanced at the only room built on the ship - for the mad woman - seemingly quiet from inside. She might be asleep. Then he looked at the capital a distance away, it did not seem that far. He should be able to run there and be back before dusk. He should warn the Knights, and hopefully Flynn, too.

Most of all, he need to see Flynn after all those nightmares he had.

Finally made up his mind, he tightened his grip on his sword and started running towards the capital. The occassional tree branches blocked his way, but nothing could adhere his speed. At this rate, he should arrive at Zaphias in just a few more minutes. Actually, he was feeling that he ran faster than usual, the trees and bushes ran past him in motioned blur. He frowned inwardly as he initially thought it would take at least an hour to reach the capital. Why had he thought that? The distance turned out to be nothing.

Entering via the northern entrance - where the nobles were - he walked briskly, ignoring the curious looks from the people around him. After all, he was still a half-Krityan woman to common people. He was just passing through the gate to the castle and headed around the outside walls towards the Knights quarter, when he heard a very familiary voice,

"Yuri! Are ya' by yourself?" Raven greeted him in his usual cheerful manner. Why did Yuri suddenly feel that the old man was more annoying than usual? He turned his back to face the ex-captain with annoyed expression on his face. But whatever expression he turned out to give away definitely had alarmed Raven. The older man subsconsciously reached his bow and slowly spoke with wary tone,

"Yuri..., ya' okay, kid?"

Yuri took a few deep breath and abruptly turned his back again so he did not face Raven directly. Why did he suddenly feel like attacking the old man?

And his headache was annoying him again.

"Hey old man, Mimula will attack by nightfall," he managed to speak with as normal tone as he could muster, "I'll need your help to rescue Judith, Rita, the Professor, and some hostages when she's busy with the Knights here."

Raven somehow relaxed his stance, "No problem, Yuri. Where...?"

Yuri lifted his finger and pointed towards a hill west of Zaphias, "About a hundred miles from here. As soon as you see blue lights approaching the Zaphias, send people to rescue them."

"Sure, kiddo," said Raven, "but are ya' feelin' okay?"

Yuri waved his hand and continued heading towardst he quarter. If Raven was here, that meant Flynn would be at the capital, too.

Finally stopping at a section of the castle wall, he looked upwards.

The windows were opened. Always a sure sign the Commandant was in his room.

Slowly stepping on the uneven bricks sticking out on the wall and pulled his weight with his arms occassionally, he escalated his way on the vertical wall, and finally reached the window frame. Despite his headaches, even climbing the wall was surprisingly easy.

He was greeted by Flynn's incredulous expression, his azure eyes shone - very much alive - and his lips slightly opened in surprise. Yuri had never felt so relieved seeing the blond man well. Flynn was sitting by his bed, obviously not expecting any intrusion - especially from his window -, judging from his relaxed position and the book in his hands. He was still wearing his armour, though.

Yuri pulled his weight for the last time and swiftly jumped inside.

"Yuri, I am so glad you are alright," Flynn set his book aside and stood, "Though your choice of entrance never ceased to amaze me."

"I don't want more knights to see me in this get-up," he snorted, gesturing on his Krityan-like appearance.

"Hey, at least you're not as girly-white as you were the last time I saw you," Flynn chuckled. Yuri observed his own skin on his hands and realized that his friend was right: the effect of the magical cucumber seemed to almost be gone altogethr, his skin turning the tan color he normally had. He shrugged,

"I met the old man, though," Yuri said, dusting his clothes and casually tapped the Abyssion against his palm, "Speaking of, Flynn, Mimula will attack the capital by this nightfall. She has quite a number of people following her, and they won't be easy."

Flynn sighed and raised his fingers onto his chin, "We figured as much. We met Tison at Releweise Hollow and he filled us in."

"Tison...?" Yuri frowned, "... of the Hunting Blade?"

He sat himelf on Flynn's bed and started to feel his headaches beginning to attack him again. He pressed his fingers onto his forehead, trying to mitigate the pain.

"There's too much too explain," Flynn paced back and forth in circle. Somehow, his blond friend's restlesness only seemed to intensify the pain in his head.

"But anyway, I have stationed more knights pretty much at every corner of the capital. We will be ready".

"Oh, and you know what? We met Duke, too..."

Even Flynn's voice sounded more distant now... .

"You know the little experiment we had back in Pallestralle with the stone?" Flynn continued, "Strangely enough, it reacted to Duke... . And without him even launching any arte or spell, the stone simply reacted to him."

He wished Flynn would shut up for a second.

"Then there was this man... even without fighting him, I know he's strong..."

His head was hurting.

"Duke said something strange," Flynn pondered, "He said to look out for you, Yuri."

Couldn't he do anything to shut Flynn up?

"Yuri?" Flynn's voice was hinted with concern now, and the blond slowly walked closer to him. He kneeled by the bed so they were at the same level of height.

_Flynn, shut up._

"Yuri, are you o...?"

_Please, please, shut up!_

Then he felt peace and quiet. His headache stopped, his mind was blissfully blank, until he felt the soft touch on his lips and the trickle of blood through his teeth.

Yuri opened his eyes to meet a pair of wide-eyed azure orbs staring back at him, clear shock and bewilderment reflected on them. His brain tried to recall what he had done - or what he remembered he had done. Just a few seconds ago he leapt at Flynn, sending them both crashing on the floor. He pinned the blond under his weight, his fingers tightly wrapped around his friend's wrists to lock him motionless.

He wanted Flynn to shut up - and he kissed him. And through the fierceness of his _attack_, he must have cut his lips, or Flynn's lips, or both... it could be either one's blood he was tasting in his mouth now.

Then a very unmistakable reddish color formed on Flynn's face, and Yuri could swear the same color must be creeping up his own face right now.

Abruptly standing up and grabbing the Abyssion, Yuri jumped out the window. How he could manage the long jump down, he did not know.

------------------------------- tbc


	15. Chapter 13 Storm

Flynn Scifo was shocked, mad, confused, and a few other negative feelings he had for himself as the direct impact of Yuri's recent behavior. What bothered him the most though, amidst those feelings, he had never felt this…. sudden growing affection… towards his childhood friend.

At that second Yuri pinned him on to the ground, he did not have the chance to react. And when Yuri's eyes bored into his with their intense blackness, he could not even breathe. He was even sure his heart stopped beating for a few good seconds Yuri was on top of him.

He could slightly feel his wrists go numb from the strength and weight of Yuri fixing him on the floor. He tried to move some muscles or at least gained a bit of his freedom - a slight sanity in him forcing him to get out of the awkward position he had been put in. After a few futile attempts in regaining control of his limbs, it finally occurred to him that there was no getting out of this by himself – a fact he was embarrassed about. He was always the stronger one.

And then, before he could ask, or compose himself – not sure if he _really_ wanted to – his lips made contact with Yuri's, or the other way around – he was just laying there and was completely in mercy of the dark-haired swordsman. The contact – not sure if he could call that a kiss – was rough and sudden at first – his front teeth painfully contracted from the force, and he was sure he bleed. But not long after, his eyes widened in shock as how their lips, still glued together, seemed to have mind on _their_ own – or maybe it was just because he did not really want to admit that he was actually aching for more. After the first contact that hurt Flynn slightly, Yuri did not let go but instead caught his lips with the softest of tenderness; the dark-haired man's eyes were closed in total content.

Flynn was cold and warm from the sensation – his body couldn't seem to make up its own mind on the temperature. He was not a teenager going through puberty – he cursed at the fact why he could not even control himself then - he was supposed to be the level headed one. But he felt the rising urge to react to Yuri, slightly parting his lips to taste more of his friend. Then he felt something cold slipping in, exploring his teeth and the roof of his mouth.

Where did Yuri learn to kiss like that?

The floor must have disappeared, or he must not be in Terca Lumireis anymore – he did not know how nor that he particularly cared – because he felt that he was floating. His room – and the entire world he knew - had gone – there were only him and Yuri.

He fell into deeper white, his own eyes closed now and his own tongue started to react to Yuri - eager to know more, taste more.

Then as abrupt as it started, it ended. When he opened his eyes - slightly disappointed and was even more confused at the fact that _he_ felt disappointed - Yuri was already standing and was staring down at him. Those black eyes reflected confusion… and regret. There was a trail of his blood on Yuri's lips, and Flynn was sure his cheek was burning up as the blood was the very proof that their lips _did_ make contact with each other.

Before he could muster the strength to find his voice again, Yuri jumped out the window. He quickly leapt on to his own feet and looked out, trying to see Yuri – though he was still confused, he knew his room was not at the bottom floor – but his friend was already out of sight.

Actually after all that, he knew that would not be able to see Yuri as a friend anymore. He touched his own lips subconsciously and walked towards the full-length mirror he had in his room.

He sighed in relief as he looked closely that none of his teeth was broken, the bleeding was only from the slight cut on his upper lip. But his entire appearance was disheveled – he took a few deep sharp breaths and ran his fingers through his hair, taming his messy blond locks.

He was now looking forward to dusk, when he could see Yuri again. He felt slightly guilty at his own thought that more than catching the criminal threatening the Empire, he was more interested in hearing Yuri's explanation on his earlier actions.

Finally deciding that staying in his room would only distract him more, Flynn headed to the Knight's quarter – it was time to deploy the troops.

* * *

As the sky grew dark and the stars started to flaunt their glow, Flynn saw blue dust from a distance. He calmly took his sword of its scabbard and signaled his men to get ready.

He had stationed himself at the middle quarter's entrance. He was sure all the opponents would try to penetrate all of the entry points to the capital, but he could choose only one he would guard. As it got closer, the dust turned out to be an army of women; the blue color was from the stones radiating from each one of them. Their faces were void of emotions, but their eyes showed absolute resolution to kill.

He tried to search Yuri amongst the faces, but could not find him.

Yuri must have used another entrance.

Flynn locked his lips with determination and his sword made contact with the first wave of assault.

He was taken aback with the force of the attack. Quickly glancing around him, he realized that most of his best men had similar difficulties. These people were originally civilians and most of them were Union guild members, they should try not to hurt them – let alone kill them.

As Flynn dodged the barrage of attacks from the woman and trying to figure out the best way to knock this person out without killing her, his opponent suddenly screamed with rage as she slumped on to the ground. An arrow had pierced through both of her legs, rendering her immobile. She did not look like she was in pain and was still trying to thrust her spear in her attempts to hurt Flynn despite her condition, but she was no longer a threat.

Raven – the person who shot the arrow, ran past him,

"Kiddo, there's no way winning this without hurting them," the old man winked, "I gotta rescue Judith darlin' and our genius mage. Ya' take care."

Flynn quickly turned his back and countered another blow; this time he quickly ducked low and severed some muscles of the attacker's legs. She collapsed to the ground in similar manner – void of any sense of pain, but unable to move regardless.

Sodia and the Knights seemed to catch on and tried to attack their opponents' lower limbs.

Then Karol came running while trying to avoid the attacks directed at him,

"Flynn! To the castle!"

"Sodia!" Flynn shouted, loud enough that it would be heard by his second-in-command, "I'll leave things here in your hands."

Flynn followed the Brave Vesperia boss and climbed up the stairs, all the while defending himself and taking down as many opponents as he could.

The scene greeted him at the front gate of the castle completely took him by surprise. The gates had been destroyed and trees were already burnt to black coals - the flames were still dancing wildly. The once beautiful mansions in the area were nothing more than ruins now. It was not even an hour yet since the opponents infiltrated the capital – the fact that they even made it this far angered Flynn. Stone or no stone, he was ashamed of his incapability to protect Zaphias.

The culprit seemed to be some mages who spit out their spells behind the protection of some other physical fighters. There were only a few Knights left from its original number Flynn had stationed around the area, their hands full trying to protect the nobles. Even the Royal Guards had stepped outside the castle and tried to hold off the attacks, preventing them to infiltrate the castle.

Flynn cursed inwardly as he realized that he did not have enough mages on his side to counter the spells. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Witcher and other mages of Aspio desperately tried to strike the rogue mages down with their magic artes. But the difference in power and speed casting was enormous. It was all they could do to form barrier magic to protect themselves from the incoming magic attacks while trying to avoid physical attacks of the opponents as well.

* * *

Yuri kneeled and patted Repede softly as he scanned the Lower Quarter calmly. His opponents were scattered on the stony ground – not moving. He was sure he had merely strike their nerves to paralyze them, but the fact that he might have killed a few did not bother him in the slightest.

The group infiltrating the capital via the Lower Quarter's entrance was all melee fighters – Yuri was amongst them. Luckily Flynn had stationed more guards than usual in the area, and all civilians had been instructed to stay in their homes. It was easy to defeat the melee fighters without any intervention of mages; as soon as Yuri reached the capital, he assisted the Knights in bringing down the attackers. The fact that he turned his back on Mimula did not even bother the women in the slightest – or more likely, they had lost their sense of perception. They were merely robots that had been programmed to do as they were told.

With the Knights' help – Schwann's brigade was amongst them – the women were defeated in just a matter of time. As soon as Yuri entered the capital, Raven took it as his cue to rescue the hostages while his men did the fighting. The dark-haired swordsman was particularly glad that he could get rid of his hairdo – letting loose of his hair off the Krityan antennaes he had on. It felt good to finally feel the wind playing with his hair as he fought.

Yuri frowned as it seemed easier to defeat them now than the last time he tried to during his _test_. Their moves were slower and their attacks were… weak. Why did he have such difficulties bringing them down before? Mostly single-handedly, he knocked the women one by one. From his first strike, they were aware that he was now their enemy.

Finally a few residents of the Lower Quarter appeared out of their houses – seemingly relieved at the fact that their homes were now save from harm. Out of the inn, Hank and Ted walked slowly, warily observing the bodies laying around. The little boy hesitantly kicked one – the body was not moving,

"Is… is she dead?"

Adecor walked over to the boy and examined the body and gasped,

"I… I say, Yuri Lowell, this one's dead!"

"Right, Tweedle A," Yuri growled, "She's dead, so what? You tell me if you can defeat this bunch of lunatic without killing any single one of them. You were just standing there doing nothing while I did the dirty work!"

The thin knight was speechless at his retaliation, but Yuri did not care.

Fit them well. Why did he need to exert himself to save these… weak criminals?

"You guys can mourn for the deceased," Yuri spat again – he did not like his own tone, but he could not stop. He was too irritated, "I will check how they're doing up there."

With that, he and Repede left the Lower Quarters.

* * *

Flynn finally managed to bring down a couple of mages after breaking through the enemy's formation - his sword swiftly cut the first person and changing his fighting stance, quickly attacked the second one. But soon after, a barrage of spells hit him, sending him sprawled on the ground. He tried to quickly cast _First Aid_ to heal himself, but could not get a chance to gather his energy.

"_Resist_!" a familiar voice was heard, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw the Princess standing a few meters away. His body was engulfed in a light, and suddenly the magic attacks did not hurt as much as before.

"_Revitalize_!" she casted again after a few seconds of gathering her mana, healing practically almost all wounded Knights - including Flynn - in the vicinity.

"_Resist Fi_ - Ahhhhhh!" Estellise screamed in pain as a woman from the opponent mages' group ran past the Knights' defense and swiftfully knocked her against the castle wall with one of her attacking artes.

"Ah, Princess," the woman cooed sarcastically, "But there's just one more person I am looking for, then it will be perfect," she traced her long thin finger around the Princess' face – Estellise was paralyzed from the arte and the terror,

"Where is the acting Emperor, hm?'

Flynn realized that this was Mimula – the woman's blue hair was very much similar to Cumore's, though her dirty and ragged appearance hardly reflected her past status as one of the nobles. What bothered him the most was how her body gleamed with the brightest blue, emanating from the black thin long robe she wore as her clothes.

She was not an ordinary mage – Flynn cursed as how the Royal Guards could have let Princess Estellise step out of the castle.

He was ashamed as how his Knights could not defend the Princess from harm.

He was angered as how _he_ could not defend the Princess from harm.

And when the Princess _was_ in harm –

"Let go of Estellise," a calm authoritative voice was heard beyond the tall doors of the castle. It opened slowly with creaking sound, and out came Ioder – with a handful of Royal Guards circling him.

Mimula cackled madly. The ground around her burst into tiny pebbles, throwing the rocks around the area as she gathered her energy, preparing for a spell – the force of her energy told Flynn that it would be devastating.

He mustered all the strength he could find in him and focused it on his legs. He ran as fast as he could up the stairs and threw himself in front of Ioder. If he could not prevent the attack, at least he could prevent it from fatally injuring him… .

He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come, and then a blinding white surrounded him. As he snapped his eyes opened, a very familiar figure was already kneeling in front of him – the Abyssion thrust to the ground and his whole body emanating a very strong force field, practically reflecting Mimula's spell. The dark attacking spell hit the force field until finally dispersed in to tiny particles and disappeared in the air.

Mimula was not impressed. She let out a shrilling scream – one that did not belong to a sane person, or even a human for that matter.

Following her scream, came another wave of attacks hitting them from all the still-standing mages. Flynn had just enough time to form a barrier field of his own to protect him and Ioder, and he was grateful that Princess Estellise had managed to get herself out of the attacking range. She also had her own barrier around her.

Still trying to concentrate to keep the field as strong without exerting himself too much– the continuous spell attacks meant he need to guard as long as he could – Flynn saw Yuri leapt forward in such speed he had never seen before.

Yuri swung the Abyssion around, his face glowing with what look like the most utmost excitement as he danced his way around the opponents. It was not the first time Flynn saw such expression on his friend, but somehow, this time it frightened him.

His moves only looked like motion blur to Flynn, leaving behind defeated and rigid bodies on the ground in his trail. The dark figure quickly moved from one person to the next, all the while avoiding the flame, water, stone, and wind artes thrown at him. It was a silent battle apart from the barrage of attacks – Yuri did not even once shout the name of his Artes, and Flynn could not even tell what they were from the sheer speed of his moves.

Then it stopped. Flynn finally could make out Yuri's figure again, this time standing a few inches away from Mimula, the Abyssion loosely gripped in his left hand. Totally unscathed, Yuri smiled at her, a smile Flynn did not like nor recognize.

Flynn relaxed his barrier.

Mimula's body trembled with anger and hissed,

"Impudent commoner! My dream is just a mere second awa…"

She was cut short as Yuri wrapped his fingers around her mouth and brought her crashing against the gate. The impact brought a dent to the thick bars of the gate, indenting it in the shape of her body. Her eyes gleamed with anger and madness, then pain, and then horror as Yuri slowly lifted her body off the ground just by still holding her by her face.

Was that cracking sound of her facial skull Flynn heard?

Mimula's arms flailed around wildly as she threw punches at Yuri, trying to break herself free.

"I should snap your ugly head now…" Yuri muttered - the cold smile still on his face.

Who was that person in Yuri's body? That was not Yuri Flynn knew.

Flynn warily walked over to his friend and put a hesitant hand on Yuri's shoulder,

"Yuri, don't … "

With his words, a sense of awareness returned to Yuri's eyes. He finally released his grasp and threw Mimula away from him, sending her body on to the ground. Yuri coldly looked at the woman,

"Don't make me regret saving Terca Lumireis for the likes of you."

Yuri turned his back and Flynn breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to finally capture this mad woman and put the tightest of security for her. She could stay in jail for the rest of her life for what she had done.

Suddenly another speed of light emanated from Mimula's body and it flew past Flynn, just missing him by inches. He quickly turned his head and saw the light pierced Yuri through his back.

Yuri's agonizing growl; Mimula's high-pitched laugh; Estellise' scream; his own horror – Flynn wished this was just a nightmare he would wake up from.

But the blood flowing from Yuri's wound told him this was more than real. Yuri's knees buckled and he kneeled, clutching his chest.

Yuri retaliated with a wave of energy of what seemed to be an _Azure Storm_ towards Mimula, finally sending her motionless.

Flynn did not care if she died. What concerned him more was Yuri – the Princess thought likewise and ran over to the dark-haired swordsman, frantically gathering her strength to cast her healing arte. Flynn quickly started to run to his side as well but stopped in his track – his eyes widened in horror – as Yuri suddenly stood rigid and lifted the Princess' body by her neck, letting out a deep laugh that Flynn was sure he would never want to hear again.

"Yuri!"

Repede was growling.

"Yuri, no!! That is Estelle!" Karol was shouting.

"Yuri Lowell! Put Estellise down!" Ioder's voice was heard somewhere – it sounded so distant. The only thing Flynn could see was the most important person to him was losing his mind altogether.

Why? Why?

The Princess' eyes rolled back as her consciousness began to leave her slowly, then her body was dropped to the ground. Yuri glanced down and slowly took out an arrow embedded in his right leg. The arrow was shot by Raven, who was standing in a distance with his bow stretched – his expression grim. Behind him, were Sicily and Rita.

Judith jumped forward and quickly moved Estellise' body away from Yuri as he was being distracted.

"_Mi amici_, Yuri…" Sicily gasped, "Why are you affected by the stone?"

"I… I thought he should not have been affected," Rita stammered, color drained from her face.

Yuri rolled his shoulders and calmly threw away the blood-stained arrow he managed to get off his leg. Flynn warily took a step back as he realized that his friend was now looking at him, the Abyssion still tightly wrapped around Yuri's fingers.

"Yuri Lowell! If you dare to touch the Commandant!" Sodia's voice was heard.

It did not matter. This was now between him and Yuri; he would be the one who bring Yuri back to his senses. He would be the one who remind him of the kind person he was. He would be the one who save him.

For both of their sakes. Or so he thought.

Yuri sprang forward and launched himself at Flynn with such speed that he did not have the time to defend himself. He was sent crashing on the ground with Yuri on top of him once again. The position was familiar, but Flynn hated it this time.

The Abyssion was pointed straight at him as Yuri held him firm by his neck. Yuri's strength was not of a human. The smile Yuri gave him that moment was not of a human. It definitely was not of Yuri he knew.

Was it really too late?

Clenching his jaw as he tried to tighten his neck muscles to hold as long as he could from blacking out, Flynn raised his arm around Yuri's back and swiftly plunged his sword through his friend's back. The sword pierced through him and the tip – dripping with blood – appeared off Yuri's front chest. Almost as soon as he did that, he regretted it.

As Yuri's body stiffened and his grip on Flynn's neck weakened, Flynn pulled him by the collar and lifted his own head off the ground. He caught Yuri's lips with his own, closing his eyes to fight the tears he was sure threatening to fall.

He longed for this kind of touch – but _not_ exactly like this.

When Flynn opened his eyes again, he looked at those black orbs. Somehow, he knew Yuri was back.

The dark-haired man shoved himself off Flynn, unsteadily stepped backward – his body swaying - with Flynn's sword still attached to his heart.

Yuri looked at Flynn, then to his own punctured chest, then to the Abyssion, a dawn of realization hit him on what he was about to do. He dropped the Fell Arm,

"Flynn…. I… sorr... y"

Yuri fell backwards as his legs gave way, but before he hit the ground, he was caught firmly by a person who appeared out of nowhere.

The very same person Flynn had seen back at Releweise Hollow. What was different of him was how the softest of light seemed to emanate around his back, taking form as a pair of wings. The light radiated from the wings engulfed him and Yuri both.

Yuri's body was cradled by the man, who slowly took the sword off his chest, sending it on the ground with a loud clanking sound. The blood flowed freely, and Yuri was unconscious… or dead.

"If you don't want him, I'll take him," a deep voice was heard – belonged to Duke who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, too. Flynn was not sure since when those two people arrived in Zaphias, and how far they had seen the scene without interfering until now.

"Kratos, we can go now," Duke casted a spell and a white light formed around him as his body slowly disapparated.

Flynn finally regained his composure and leapt towards the auburn-haired man addressed by Duke as Kratos. He would take Yuri back – he would take what was supposed to be his.

He was too late, though. Kratos flew with Yuri still in his arms, out of Flynn's reach. Then he heard a low distant voice from where Duke had disappeared,

"You can consider Yuri Lowell as dead… . After all, _you_ killed him."

Flynn felt as if he had died as well.

-------------------------- tbc

**Lunat1's note:**

Very very long chapter, don't get tired. Beta'ed quicklly as I was so scared of the loud wind just outside the window where my computer is. Crap, I need to go to sleep now. Then again, I'm usually no good in beta'ing

As always, reviews are love :D


	16. Chapter 14 Guilt

Estelle had finally come to terms that she could hardly do anything in her power to see Yuri again. Of all people, _she_ had to stay in Zaphias – she was a Princess after-all, and a vice-emperor in her role. After the recent attack on the Empire, the citizens relied on her and Ioder more than ever. Rebuilding the town was one thing; and she needed to persist in the reformation of the council. Ultimate power should not be given solely to the Royals and the nobility – the last thing everyone wanted was another Mimula.

Another person to hurt someone very precious to her.

Mimula passed away a few days after being unconscious. The best of doctors, healers, and even Professor Sicily had tried to save the people affected by the stones – who were either mentally damaged already, or physically wounded by the Knights. It was too late for Mimula - her already faltering heart stopped beating without her even opening her eyes again. The moment the stones lost their glowing color, she was gone.

Somewhere deep inside her, Estelle was relieved of the fact – and she hated herself for it.

There was someone who seemed to share her emotion on a much stronger level though. Flynn had constantly checked on Mimula during the whole time she was being treated. Estelle would never forget the expression – or the lack thereof - on the Commandant's face when Mimula was announced dead. The kind young man she knew seemed to have vanished the day Yuri was gone.

That was about three weeks ago - at the time, they were all gathered in the meeting room for yet another briefing on the incident. One thing for sure was reflected on Flynn's face when Professor Sicily delivered the news.

It was just a split second of time she saw it in his eyes – then it was gone: pure hate and contentment.

There were little casualties on both sides but there was no avoiding death, even on the Empire side. Ioder had to particularly answer to the Union's query about the incident and why all their disappearing Guild members had turned up at the capital, attacked the Empire citizens and some of the members even died.

Estelle knew that most of the deaths were caused by Yuri, and still she could not put the blame on him – even when she was almost killed by the very same person.

Harry was a wise young leader for the Union, but the Guilds that had been affected could not just idly accept that their members attacked the Empire. The Empire nobility could not let go of the matter, either. Although the fact that the Guild members were under the influence of the stone, the incident was still considered a breach of the treaty between the Union and the Empire – especially when the Royals were targeted.

For now, however, they agreed to disagree and put their stand-off on hold after the Union claimed Tison back. After all, he was a Guild member, too – and was almost directly involved in the attack plan.

Clint – the leader of the Hunting Blade Guild – came to the capital to claim him; and if not for Nan and Karol's requests, he would have killed Tison there and then. It was hard for him to fathom that his most trusted aid in his Guild had done something to potentially ruin the Union and the Hunting Blade name.

Now sitting on her bed alone – a trait she had made a habit ever since that day – Estelle shed her tears quietly. Her fingers curled against her dress, trying to suppress the stress and emotions she had been hiding from Ioder and her friends.

She had been spending time with the women directly affected by the stones and apparently her artes could gradually return them to their oldselves – their free will and senses slowly returned back to them. It was a surprise to her since she had always thought her power was only a nuisance to the world – but it could help people instead.

Yuri was right all along – he had never lost faith in her. He always told her that she was precious, and that her power was not a poison – not to the world, not to herself, and especially not to him.

But that Yuri – one person that she wanted to help the most – was not here. She would have been able to free him of his anguish – she understood that what he did was beyond him – she could return him to the kind person he was.

But he was not here.

And she could not go looking for him, because she had duties. Because she had people to take care of. Because she had the Empire to look after.

It had been dawning on her mind lately if this was the sort of life she wanted Yuri to share with her. She realized that it was not the most appropriate time to ponder on the matter, especially when the swordsman's whereabouts was still unknown. But she kept thinking on what she could do or what she would do – when she saw him again – to make him happy.

When she saw Yuri again... if she would ever see him again.

It was the hardest for Judith and Flynn, though. The Krityan had left Zaphias a few days after the incident, her mind set on finding Yuri. She made it her sole mission since she thought she was the one to blame for Yuri losing himself.

She was the one who propose the plan and put him in it – albeit against his will. But Estelle knew that was hardly the truth. Even if Judith has not asked Yuri for his assistance in her plan, the swordsman would definitely put himself on the line on whatever he needed to do – if it involved people's life were in danger.

Regardless, almost a month had passed now, and Judith still had not returned with any news. And it depressed Estelle even more.

Rita had been spending her time with Sicily and travelled with the Professor to Mount Temza, the Ruin of Zaude, even Tarqaron to find ancient scripts and clues to the stone's influence on various people, and why it especially affected Yuri even though he was a male. The subject of the matter was not there to be examined, but Rita had also made up her mind that she would get to the bottom of it. Estelle could not tell if the young mage was doing it for Yuri or for herself, but she knew that Rita did it to get her mind slightly off things.

Yuri had always been an integral part of their lives and feelings, and now they were doing whatever they could to get by without him.

Estelle quickly wiped her tears with the back of her palms as she heard footsteps approaching. A subtle knock followed soon as the footsteps stopped in front of her door. She stood up and quickly checked her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied that she looked at least presentable, she drew a quick breath and walked towards the door. As she opened it, she was greeted silently by Flynn who hung his head low.

Her heart sank as she could understand the only meaning behind Flynn behaving that way.

The Commandant was just back from yet another field mission he had been taking rather often lately. From the slightly dangerous missions of monsters attacking towns to even minor cases of supervising developments of cities on various continents under the Empire, Flynn took it upon himself to go with his troops. Estelle knew that it was his excuse to look for Yuri.

It had been a silent agreement between them that Flynn would at least report back to her every time he finished his mission. And from his stoic expression, Estelle knew that this was not one to feel happy about.

Flynn merely nodded at her without even looking up at her once – he considered it enough as a report – then proceeded to walk away from her to return to his room.

"Flynn, wait!" Estelle called out.

The blond man turned his back and faced her this time, and something got caught in her throat.

Flynn looked at her – or more likely looked past her – and there was no emotion on his face. He was completely empty and might as well did not exist. Dark shades were formed under his eyes – this time even more distinctive since the last time Estelle saw him almost a couple of weeks ago before he left for his Knightly duties. His eyes were bloodshot – Estelle guessed from the lack of sleep too. The skin on his face hung on him just loosely on his skeletal form, light stubbles formed on his chin, and his hair was messy.

Even obstructed by his armor, Estelle could see that he had become painstakingly thin. It almost brought Estelle to tears again to see him like this. Standing in front of her was someone who had taken Yuri's absence the hardest; someone who was ridden with guilt and regret in his incapabilities to find Yuri or to at least know if he was alive or dead.

Estelle was briefly informed by Raven that it was even harder for Flynn because he was the one who inflicted the potentially fatal wound on Yuri, and she knew that it was the hardest thing the young man had ever done in his life. She understood though, Flynn did that because he did not want Yuri to lose himself.

Estelle had asked Yuri of the same thing when she learned that she was hurting people beyond her control when she was captured by Alexei – way before the whole Adephagos ordeal. She somehow knew that Yuri would have wished the same thing if he _was_ in her position, and that the only one who most likely be able to stop him was his best friend.

It pained Estelle to know how perfectly the two young men seemed to understand each other, and how little she could do for either of them.

"Ioder wants to see you," she found her voice again and tried to avoid the blank stare Flynn was still giving her.

Flynn nodded once again, and he walked away. Estelle towed behind.

* * *

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?" Flynn blinked. His tone was not particularly polite in addressing the person he should regard the highest, but he did not really care.

"I will relieve you of your title, Commandant," Ioder repeated, "but only temporarily."

"I-Ioder... why?" The Princess stammered – the order was also new to her.

"Commandant Flynn Scifo," Ioder sighed. He clenched his palm against the chair he was sitting on,

"Please take my order... as a chance to take a break."

"I don't need a break," Flynn said curtly and gritted his teeth. He was beyond impolite now and he hated himself for it, but he could not seem to stop himself.

"Please watch your tone, Flynn Scifo!" Master Drake's voice boomed. There were only a handful of people present in Ioder's room – Raven and Sodia were there, too.

"Look at yourself! You are not a good role model for the Knights with the way you are behaving now. I may be old and retired, but I cannot leave the Empire Knights in the care of someon..."

"Master Drake, please," Ioder lifted his right hand, prompting the old Knight to stop. He leaned his body forward slightly,

"Flynn, you might have always regarded me as a leader, but I have always seen you as a friend."

Flynn hated himself more now.

"I...," Ioder paused and briefly scanned the room, "... we... are worried about you. I think it is best if you go somewhere you can take your mind ... off things."

The room was quiet – even Sodia did not protest against Ioder's decision. Had he become really an unreliable commandant that she would not even defend him?

"It is my order, Commandant," Ioder repeated, "Your role is relieved temporarily off you starting... now."

The Princess let out a soft gasp.

"Very well, Your Majesty," Flynn bowed, "I will take my leave now."

He wanted to get away as soon as he could. He just wanted to be alone – one company he wished the most was not with him.

He finally stepped out from Ioder's room, the door starting to close behind him. Suddenly an arm casually hung around his neck,

"Flynn," Raven sighed. The ex-Captain had followed him outside the room and Flynn kept walking, trying to ignore his presence,

"Ioder does that for ya'. At least by announcing it officially, ya' are free to go where ya' want now."

Flynn stopped, "And where do I want to go?"

"Kiddo," Raven replied, this time more stern, "Don't take us for fools, but ya've been desperately looking for Yuri, right?"

Flynn swiftly turned his head and stared at the old man. Had he been that obvious? Sure he had been trying to look for Yuri all this time – the sole reason he had been putting himself in charge of every mission he could take on, but he had not particularly told anyone about it.

Apart from the Princess being observant, it seemed that everyone around him were able to look past him, too.

Raven sighed again,

"Don't worry, Flynn. I don't really feel like playing knight again, ya know. But I'll make sure no harm'll come to the Prince, hm?"

"You mean the Prince ... _and_ the Princess." Flynn corrected cautiously. He did not like how Raven particularly emphasized on Ioder only.

"Oh, this ol' man won't have to worry about Estelle," Raven rolled his eyes, "_You_ will be looking after her."

He had just started to open his mouth in protest, then Estelle came running out of Ioder's room,

"Flynn!" she called out and finally stopped in front of the two men, still trying to catch her breath. Her eyes glowed in apparent excitement she hadn't shown for weeks,

"Ioder allows me to come with you to look for Yuri together."

Then came another voice,

"If you don't mind, Commanda – no, I will come with you regardless," Sodia was behind the Princess and looked at him warily, definitely not used to address him in such manner.

"This is insanity," Flynn muttered.

"Well, take care of the two ladies, will ya?" Raven chuckled softly, "I'm sure this firecracker over here'll be able to take care of herself, though."

Sodia shot him a sharp glare.

Flynn felt his body being slightly dragged by Raven, whose arms still tightly hung around his neck. Estellise and Sodia went to their rooms to prepare for the trip.

"Flynn, kiddo. No one had actually told Estelle."

Flynn blinked, not comprehending.

"About how you... you know..., kissed Yuri."

Right, after stabbing his best friend, he kissed him – of-course he should worry about that, or not really.

Now that he kept thinking back, he wondered if there was any other way he could have brought Yuri to his senses at that moment without hurting him. Maybe it would be better if he died by the dark-haired man's hands. However, he knew that it would kill Yuri if the swordsman ever realized that he had harmed Flynn, let alone kill him. Flynn knew that Yuri would rather lose his life than to hurt any of his friends by his own hands.

But still, there should have been another way, but he was too stupid to know. He was reckless, and he had lost Yuri, just shortly after he knew that he loved his best friend.

How he longed to touch him again, how he wanted to feel the pleasant warmth as his fingers ran along the long dark hair...

"So anyway," Raven coughed subtly, "all of us saw it, apart from Estelle, ya know, being unconscious and all."

If for a better circumstance, Flynn was sure he would blush, but he just tightened his lips bitterly as his pointless attempt to at least smile about it.

Big deal, now everyone knew he fell for Yuri. Not only Flynn was a Commandant and a role model for his Knights, Yuri was an occasional criminal and not exactly in the Knights' good books –

He was also a man.

Yet everyone seemed to understand and so accepting of the fact. Particularly Ioder. Flynn regretted how he had acted in front of the acting Emperor minutes ago.

"Well, if Estelle ever finds out, go easy on her, okay?" Raven finally let loose of his grip and walked away.

Flynn waited until the old man's figure disappeared around the corner, then he made his ways towards his own chamber.

When he was finally granted privacy in his room, Flynn started strapping his armour off his body. He walked towards his bed and let his body fell forwad, burying his head in the crisp linen. He had not used his bed ever since the incident happened. It was childish of him - he knew - but he preferred laying on the floor - the exact spot he and Yuri were pinned against each other the morning on that cursed day. If anything else, most nights he would just sit and stared on the ceilings, not particularly looking at anything.

Master Drake was right, he was pathetic.

Laying on one corner of his bed was the Fell Arm Abyssion. Flynn slowly reached out for it and subsconsciously carressed the length of the sword, if only trying to feel the warmth of its owner.

He felt his cheek grew hot.

"I will find you," he murmured in broken breaths, unable to stop his emotions to burst out. It was not going to be Zaude all over again. The last time he lost Yuri, it was hard; this time it was unbearable. If he could not find Yuri, or if Yuri turned out to not be in this world anymore, he was sure he would not want to live. Or maybe he would live without really living.

He cursed at how weak he had become. Everything had become clear to him, his life had always revolved around his best friend. His vision of the future had always had Yuri in it, some ways or another. There was no use creating an ideal world if the dark-haired man was not there to witness it - if Yuri was not there to smile at him with his usual cynical ways.

When he stepped out of his room, Flynn would walk with a new hope.

* * *

Estelle paced back and forth in front of the castle gate as she waited for Flynn to come out. Sodia was standing just a metre away from her, but the Knight was not exactly a conversation starter. Estelle was sure she would not be able to have a conversation with her regardless. Sodia had maintained a respectful distance between the two of them and still regarded her as the Princess. Not that she was not one, but Estelle wished she would just lighten up, especially when they were about to go on a journey together.

She was so relieved when she learned the truth behind Ioder relieving Flynn of his role, and even more so when her cousin prompted her to go along. She did not see any hesitation in Ioder's eyes as he softly told her of his true intention.

He owed his life – and Estelle's life - to Yuri, he said, and it was the least he could do to make it up to the swordsman.

Finally, Flynn stepped out of the castle gate. Estelle opened her mouth to greet him, but stopped as she was taken aback by the blond man's appearance.

Flynn had freshened up and tidied himself much to her relief. His face was clean and smooth, the stubbles on his chin gone now. She could now see life slightly kicked its way back into the young man's eyes, the fact of being able to look for his best friend freely clearly lightened him up.

But what shocked her was how his body was almost skeletal. The thin short sleeved shirt he wore hung on his frame and when the wind was around him, the shirt contoured around his body, hugging his figure and clearly emphasizing the bones underneath the fabric. Estelle knew that he had lost weight but had never really seen the state he was really in since Flynn had always been wearing his armour.

Nevertheless, they travelled light, and Flynn only had a small backpack with him. He had his sword tied to his belt, and Yuri's Abyssion tucked in his backpack.

The Fell Arm was all Yuri had left behind.

Estelle was about to greet him when she heard a familiar voice from the bottom of the stairs,

"I will not bring the Abyssion if I were you."

Estelle darted her eyes towards the source of the voice and Judith was standing there, her hands behind her back. The Krityan looked tired, but the expression she wore on her face told Estelle that she had news they had all been waiting for.

- tbc

**lunat1's note:**

thanks for the supporting reviews & sorry for the long update. It has been chaotic here for the last week personally, but hopefully it's all behind me now. Oh and I am now (just) starting to play Star Ocean... . I have to say Yuri is still my favourite, so I will continue on the fic still as often as I can.


	17. Side Arc 2 Bond

She had been unusually quiet for the past few days – not that she was ever a talkative person – but she couldn't seem to cope with anything thrown her way.

Or rather – she did not really want to.

Judith had taken upon herself that being the oldest female in the group meant she needed to watch out for the younger members. She had never realized until now that it was a very easy thing to do when _he_ was around.

She now realized that she had always taken Yuri's presence for granted, that the swordsman would always be around and would always be there to be the pillar to hold on to. All she needed to do was sit on the bench and watch, and occasionally set the path straight for everyone in her own way.

_Everyone_ had taken his presence for granted.

And now, she was lost – and she hated herself for it. She had never been this weak; even when Yuri fell off the Tower of Zaude and everyone seemed to have given up on the fact that he would ever return to them – she was able to carry on with her life and somehow be the rock that empower everyone else to stay strong.

But now, she could not do it.

Yuri had become that much more substantial part in their lives.

It was more because she felt that it was her fault.

It was because she put Yuri up with her plan – which she considered reckless and stupid now that she kept thinking back.

Not a single person pointed out her flaw – her fault. Perhaps none of them thought it was her responsibility, perhaps all of them pointed their fingers at her – none of it mattered.

The empty space Yuri had left behind seemed to suck some life out of everyone.

It choked her because she knew how important Yuri was to some of them, more than before they defeated the _Adephagos_, more than before they realized their feelings.

---

As soon as Raven released her, RIta, and the other hostages from Mimula's ship, the group headed to the capital, not really concerned about the welfare of the others.

After all, they had been through worse and she had complete confidence in Yuri.

But what she saw in front of the mighty castle of Zaphias drained all the blood in her.

How Yuri – one person that would rather kill himself than to hurt any of his friends – held Estelle by her neck, with unmistakable intention to kill her. The Princess' eyes rolled back, her consciousness faltering, and Judith was too shocked to even do anything. Her fingers were wrapped around her _Brionac_, gripping it tightly that she could slightly feel her knuckles going numb.

Sicily and Rita mouthed something about why Yuri was behaving that way and how the stone was affecting him – Judith could not really make out exactly the buzz surrounding her.

She wished Yuri would smile at her – at everyone – again with that signature lopsided smirk he always wore on his face.

Somehow, when he did that, she knew everything would be alright.

But not at that time and not now that he was gone.

Off all people, Raven was the one who brought her to her senses. His judgment and quick action prompted her to act as well; as soon as the arrow was unleashed off his bow and flew straight through Yuri's leg – slightly distracting him – she managed to get close and move Estelle away from harm.

That was as much as she could do, and she thought it was pathetic.

---

A light tap on her shoulder made her heart skipped a beat in surprise – she subconsciously reached out to her spear but quickly relaxed herself when she saw sympathetic smile of Raven.

Judith smiled bitterly at the old man – even by herself, she had never completely taken her guard down as she had been doing lately.

At least it was only Raven.

The old man proceeded to sit cross legged besides her. She was sitting on the grass patch of the park in the Middle Quarter, just staring at the starry sky, or nothing in particular. She did not have the mood to mingle with everyone else in the castle – it was too much for her to see everyone trying to get by.

"Judy, darlin'. I think ya' should hear this anyway... ," the old man sighed, "It's not your burden ta' bear. Don't be too hard on yourself, ya' hear?"

She tilted her head sideways slightly, if only to avoid Raven's penetrating gaze on her. Of all people, she had to hear some words of comfort from him.

"Ah, there's our Commandant," Raven muttered, sighting Flynn walking a few metres away. The blond man was heading towards the castle from the Lower Quarters.

Raven called out to him, but Flynn was completely oblivious.

"What the? Man, that kid oughta get his act together...," the old man sighed. Judith knew that Raven was not only referring to how Flynn did not respond to his greetings, but to the blond man's appearance as well.

He was very unkempt for a Commandant. Though it was in the middle of the night, he had been absentmindedly lingering outside the castle a lot – spacing out – not exactly a favoured trait coming from the leader of the Imperial Knights.

But Judith could not blame him. He was the one who take Yuri's absence the hardest.

She knew Flynn had been spending most of his nights in the Lower Quarters, and she did not need to spy him to know where he had just been, especially with the Fell Arm Abyssion always securely attached to his belt – a remnant of his best friend.

Yuri's room.

Judith bit her lower lip in sheer determination.

She knew what she needed to do. She took out the cone shaped horn she always used to communicate with Ba'ul and mouthed some words.

A howling was heard not so far away.

"Thank you, Ba'ul," she smiled sadly, but with more hope this time.

"Where are ya' goin'?" Raven's eyes followed Judith as she stood up and started to walk away. She paused and said without turning her back,

"Looking for Yuri."

* * *

After briefly saying goodbye to Estelle, she left. Rita was nowhere to be seen and Karol was in Dahngrest. At least facing Estelle was not as hard as she would have guessed. Judith put on her usual unreadable expression – trying to look as normal as she could muster – but she could not escape the concerned well-intended embrace Estelle gave her as she understood why Judith had to leave.

The Princess was holding on well, though Judith had not told her of the event happened between Yuri and Flynn during the last moments before Yuri was taken away.

It was not her place to tell her, anyway – she figured out it would be best for the people involved to sort it out between themselves.

Estelle knew and completely had the utmost faith in Judith to find Yuri and she did not intend to fail her.

As she climbed on top of Ba'ul, she gently stroked the Entelexia's fur, mouthing a silent gratitude again for her friend's understanding.

Ba'ul had agreed to assist her in her selfish request for his assistance to look for Yuri. Knowing the Entelexia, he did not have the same kind of emotional attachment to the swordsman, and probably did not really want to cross path with Duke either. But Ba'ul had always been on her side, even now.

For now, she just needed to find out if Yuri was alright. And knowing Duke, she knew where to look.

She heard a soft whine and turned her head to see Repede walking slowly towards her. The dog stopped by Ba'ul's side and brushed his body against the Entelexia's fur. The two creatures seemed to communicate with each other, and seconds later by Ba'ul's low humming voice, she knew what their exchange was about.

Judith smiled at Repede,

"If you don't mind _not_ travelling on the Fiertia and can hold on to Ba'ul, I will be glad to have your company."

The dog barked excitedly and jumped on top of the Entelexia. With a soft hum, Ba'ul slowly floated then flew into the darkness of the night.

* * *

'_Please, Flynn... don't... don't...,' he chanted, over and over again_

_A pair of Azure eyes stared at him – blank – lifeless. Flynn's body was heavy against his arms, his blood staining his shirt, even flowing in between his fingers that were wrapped tightly around his shoulders._

_But still, Yuri refused to let go._

_Why was he so confused?_

_He was the one who killed him._

_Him and ... Estelle... and Rita... and Karol... ._

_If this was a nightmare, he wished he would wake up soon. But the blood felt real. The warmth of Flynn's rigid body that he felt slipping away slowly felt real._

_He wished he would die, too._

_He heard a distant laughter. A emotionless, dry, mocking laughter._

_That sounded a lot like Mimula._

_That's right. If he killed Mimula, none of this would happen... . But why did killing Mimula have anything to do with him killing his friends?_

_He was confused... he was shaking..._

_With laughter. _

_Yuri's eyes lit up with bewilderment._

_It was him who was laughing. _

_As soon as he realized it, he reached out for his sword..._

_Where is the Abyssion? _

_It did not matter; Flynn's sword would do just fine. With a swift motion, he flipped the hilt backwards and pierced his own body with it._

_The pain came._

_He closed his eyes for a second and opened them again._

_Flynn was standing, alive – and well. _

'_Flynn.... you... are okay.'_

_But his friend just stood there with an expression Yuri had never seen before._

_Total repulsion._

_He tried to reach out, to hold on to something vivid – to hold on to something real – to hold on to Flynn._

_He could do with the whole world being his enemy._

_He just wished Flynn would not look at him that way._

_He would rather stab himself a thousand times. Was Flynn mad because he tried to hurt him before? – wait, did he not kill him?_

_Maybe if he just surrendered to the inviting blackness, it would not be so excruciating... . _

_He closed his eyes and focused on the pain on his chest – in fact, all over his body. He only stabbed his chest, but his whole body seemed to be burning. _

_He tried to open his eyes again. But the blackness was still there. Maybe he had gone blind?_

Then a bright light engulfed him. He leapt forward, ignoring the burning pain he was still feeling, and subconsciously reached out for his sword.

As he gained his sight slowly, he squinted his eyes, trying to make out his surroundings.

At least the pain had started to subside.

He was in a room – a very practical one – consisting of a bed and a side table. Soft light penetrated the room through a thin fabric served as a curtain. He was sitting on a bed, sweating profusely due to some nightmare he had just dreamt – he hardly remembered the details.

The room looked very familiar. Yuri ran his fingers along the bed frame, then realized that he was still gripping onto his sword with his other hand. He glanced sideways and frowned.

The _Dein Nomos_?

Turning his head the other side, he saw his old shirt threwn on the floor -- the shirt Judith had given him for his half-Krityan disguise -- tattered and stained with blood. He looked down at his own chest and saw tightly wrapped bands around his body. There was unmistakable traces of Healing Arte performed on him judging from how little the blood stained the thin bands and how he could move about without him screaming pain.

He shook his head slowly and stepped away from the bed, warily opening the side doors.

At one corner of the narrow corridor behind the door, was a reception table. A guestbook was on it. Distant birds chirping was heard from outside the building, and Yuri could see green canopies and flower fields outside the wooden windows.

He was unmistakably in Yormgen – the town that should have been in ruins, but was completely frozen in time in Phaeroh's hallucination. Though from his journeys, the hallucination was proven to be real – the pathway to the current state of the town had been permanently paved at the top of Phaeroh's craig – even after the Entelexia's evolution into the fire spirit.

Yuri could not remember how he got there – the last thing he vaguely remembered was when he was trying to kill Flynn back at the capital.

And when he gained his own freewill again the moment Flynn kissed him _and_ stabbed him -- or the other way around. He clutched at his chest as his wound seemed to throb again.

The sensation lingered on his lips now that he remembered it.

Yuri tensed up suddenly as he felt another person's presence just outside the inn, then a low bark was heard. He quickly opened the door, and Repede was there.

The dog was inspecting him warily from a distance – appearing not to recognize him at first _or_ evaluating him thoroughly. Behind Repede, were Judith – and Duke.

"Judy?"

Judith's face lit up at her name being called, and Repede ran towards him and jumped, practically toppled him over, licking him all over his face.

"He-hey! Repede!" Yuri tried to escape Repede's attacks, and slightly bemused as to why his canine friend was behaving more like a dog today – especially towards him.

A pair of delicate hands was offered to him by Judith, and Yuri accepted them, lifting himself off the ground – Repede finally feeling satisfied leaving his saliva marks all over his master's face.

"What's wrong with you?" Yuri chuckled light heartedly at the dog who seemed to be feeling content wrapping his body around one of Yuri's legs. Then he realized that Judith had not let go of his hands, either.

Yuri finally looked at his Krityan friend cautiously in the eye – and were those tears he saw? He choked briefly as Judith pulled him suddenly into an embrace and wrapped her arms around his body tightly.

Not that he minded, but it was strange receiving this kind of treatment from Repede, then Judith.

Two of the proudest friends he ever had.

After what seemed like a good few minutes without him not being able to break free from the Krityan, Judith finally let go. The Krityan turned her back and nodded slightly at Duke,

"Thank you, Duke."

The white haired man crossed his arms in response. Yuri frowned inwardly again as how expressionless the Great War hero always looked – and what business he had here in Yormgen anyway – though Yuri knew Yormgen was one of Duke's usual hang-out spot.

"You've seen him, now you should go," he said sternly.

Judith's lips formed a thin line – indicating her disapproval – but seemed to change her mind as she smiled her usual carefree smile. She squeezed Yuri's hands,

"Glad to know you're alright, Yuri. I have to go back, though," she said, "I hope you can leave soon, too."

With that, she let go of his hands and indicated Repede to follow her. The dog barked at him, seemingly sad that he had to part with Yuri again – as to why, Yuri did not know.

Why couldn't he just travel with them right then?

"If you don't want to hurt your friends again, you will not go to where they are," Duke said sternly, seemingly able to read his mind.

* * *

So he did try to kill his friends.

And Flynn.

Behind the excuse of being under the mana stone's influence – he did try to harm his best friend.

The sky was dark and starless, as if mocking him as well.

"The Dein Nomos should mitigate the poison in you," Duke said, "It will be periodical – all your life, even. But so long as you do not use the Fell Arm again... and as long as you have the Dein Nomos with you."

They were sitting – actually only Yuri was sitting – on one of the benches at Yormgen port. Duke was leaning against the wooden fence, seemed uninterested.

His other companion – the _traitor to heaven_ Yuri remembered he had fought in the Labyrinth of Memories – sat on a wooden plank jutted out to the ocean, his auburn hair teased by the wind. His mind might be still not in the right place, but Yuri swore he saw wings formed around the stranger's back every time the moonlight shone on his figure.

He wanted to fight him again, but now probably was not the best time.

"So, if I haven't been using the Abyssion, none of this would have happened to me?" Yuri blinked, incredulous.

"The Fell Arm and The Dein Nomos were ancient weapons," Duke stared at the night sky, "They should not be used as normal swords. Your ignorance brought you to where you are."

Yuri was about to open his mouth in protest, but decided against it. For whatever reason, Duke did save him – again. Back then it was Zaude -- and now...

"And yet, you saved me for the second time."

"..."

"Why did you do that? If I am still under the influence of the stone --," Yuri paused – the stone had actually been dissolved completely in him and became part of his mana. He was not sure how, apparently having wielded the Fell Arm and synchronised his mana to the sword unknowingly, he became the perfect host to the mana stone – albeit the side effect of sending him almost mental.

"... am I not a threat to the world you love so much then?" he continued, subconsciously rubbing his fingers against his right arm where the stone once was – it was no longer there. He cursed inwardly.

For once, Duke's amber eyes fell on him,

"You are not a threat to Terca Lumireis, but you are certainly a threat to your human friends."

Something got caught in Yuri's throat.

"When we fought at the top of Tarqaron, I have told you," Duke paused, "You are intriguing. And should we have met in different circumstances... "

Yuri was waiting for Duke to finish his words, but the white haired man suddenly straightened himself up and walked away. Yuri stared at his back, dumbfounded.

He could never get used to the guy.

"Duke wants you to travel with us," the _traitor to heaven_ opened his mouth for the first time, and Yuri was slightly bemused to how similar his voice and Duke's were. But he could not get past the '_Duke wants him to travel with them_' bit.

He might as well turn into a tree.

"Right... urm..." Yuri put his finger on his temple then gestured as polite as he could to the auburn-haired man, prompting him to introduce himself. Realizing he was better off talking to a wall, Yuri sighed.

"Thanks... I'm flattered," Yuri closed his eyes and tried to withhold the apparent sarcastic tone escaping his lips with every word he spoke, "And, that is because...?"

"All of us now have something in common," the man continued –not tearing his gaze away from the vast dark ocean, "We have no one to return to. Only the whole world; and ourselves."

Yuri caught a tone of bitterness from the older man. He was slightly curious about the man's background and his past.

He was strong, too. Maybe travelling with two of the strongest men on Terca Lumereis was not such a bad idea after all.

But his mind lingered on his last words: he had no one to return to.

Not even his best friend?

Not even Flynn?

He recalled that sensation again as he remembered the moment their lips touched.

That warm fluttery feeling he felt in his stomach as they felt each other – even if only by the skin of their lips.

What he would not give to feel it again.

Yuri touched his lips and threw his gaze at the ocean. After a few seconds, he stood up and started to walk away.

"You are going by yourself," the auburn-haired man said – more of a confirmation than a question – without even turning his back.

Yuri paused and tapped the Dein Nomos against his own shoulder,

"I am not ready to roam the world with boring men like you two," he chuckled – trying to be as casual as he could, "and tell Duke I'll be borrowing the Dein Nomos."

Yuri headed towards the town's entrance, where the space distortion was located. As soon as he was out of the town, he would be back to the present _normal_ Terca Lumireis. The Sands of Kogorh was more merciful at night than at day, so he would not expect any difficulties to at least reach Mantaic before dawn.

Knowing Judith, she would probably take all Brave Vesperia members with her to visit him again the next day.

And most probably Flynn.

If there was ever remotely a chance of him harming them again, he should get away as far as he could.

* * *

"There he goes..." Kratos muttered, "And he took your sword."

Duke was already standing by his side, watching Yuri's figure disappearing into the night.

"He is an interesting one," Duke said, shrugging slightly,

"He is still attached to his friends... and his Commandant friend. Let him do what he wants"

------------------------------ tbc


	18. Chapter 15 Reach

"Thank you, Lady Estellise," Flynn smiled sincerely, taking the wet rag the Princess just offered him. He began to take out a few burnt out logs out of the campfire with it – to make the flame smaller. He did not look up, mainly to avoid her scrutinizing gaze on his unfinished dinner; then dumped a bucket of water on to the logs he had finally piled up aside to put out the remaining flickering orbs. The night suddenly grew darker, darkness enveloping the rock cave they were in. Their only source of light was the small fire Flynn had deliberately left out to give them just enough for comfort.

Judith had volunteered to cook earlier – a stew with wild vegetables they found and edible beast meat from her brief hunt earlier. The dish was rich even for Flynn – but he knew that the Krityan went the extra length to provide him with the nutrition he seemed to be lacking lately.

It was the first night of their journey away from Zaphias, and they had to stop at the Aer Krene located south of the capital – it was the closest place for Ba'ul to eat. Judith had insisted that her entelexia friend need to nourish himself after all the travelling he had done for her lately. Flynn did not object at all – he knew that carrying the Fiertia was no small feat for the creature.

Estellise' _tsk_-ing sound that escaped from her lips after a good few seconds of her eyeing his leftover dinner – as she finally resolved on keeping her disapproval to herself – brought a surge of relief to Flynn. The least he wanted was to hear some form of reprehension from the Princess. He thought that it might have something to do with the fact that Estellise did not finish her meal either – how could she bring herself to scold him for doing the same thing?

After throwing him a sympathetic and acknowledging bitter smile, the Princess took a deep silent breath before entering the makeshift tent they had erected earlier. Obviously, she was in no mood for any pleasantry chat either.

The only ones contented were Judith and Repede, and Ba'ul who was lying in front of the cave, steady flow of Aer surging into him as he _breathed _in his meal.

Obviously the difference had something to do with them_ having_ seen Yuri – and Flynn and Estellise had _not_.

Judith and Repede had seen Yuri alive – and quite well by the sound of it.

His second-in-command, Sodia – or rather merely a travel companion now, since he was _not_ a commandant anymore – had just finished covering the entrance with dry plant roots to protect them from the cold night wind, leaving just enough space for the steady Aer flow for Ba'ul.

Outside, the sky was dark. The night was perfectly still apart from soft humming of the young entelexia, content with his meal at last.

The almost eerie calmness enveloped Flynn into deep sleep, possibly the only real rest he had for weeks. It was going to be a dreamless sleep – he was not really keen to dream, he knew that dreams were usually manifestation of one's greatest desire. Knowing his current desire, it was just going to be a torment.

But he hoped that tomorrow, when they could finally head to the place where Yuri should be at, maybe – just maybe – he could bear to dream again.

* * *

Rita squinted her eyes, shielding them with her hands and tried to look beyond the obstructing clouds. She swore she could somehow make out Ba'ul form, gliding in and out of the clouds.

She had been catching glimpses of the entelexia a lot lately. Must be Judith and her wild goose chase for everyone's beloved swordsman – she thought bitterly.

Which brought her to her current business – she was also doing her own wild-goose chase, having just spent her time turning every rock and pebble at the remains of Tower of Zaude. It was possibly the least likely place Yuri could have been brought to, but she would not leave any spot unsearched. Any place that she could think of – any place that had some sort of connection with the ancients and the Great War; any place that she thought would have some sort of significance to Duke to serve as a hideout.

She could not bear to stay at the Capital for longer than she needed to. Karol had left much earlier – as soon as the other Union members set out to Dahngrest, he bid farewell to the others and boarded the ship for the long journey up north. She noticed to her dismay that Chief Karol was actually more mature in handling Yuri's absence than the rest of them.

Compared to the little runt, she regarded herself as pathetic. As much as she hated to admit – more than the fact that she found it unbearably difficult to wake up and not being able to see Yuri –

His usual nonchalant laugh as he brushed off anything impossible. Yuri was like that – everything was possible for him,

His usual joke and tease on everyone in the group,

Gosh, she even missed his cooking –

But more than the fact that it was difficult to not being able to see and hear Yuri Lowell, she found it utterly impossible to stay with the others.

They might as well be zombies. Estelle had grown dark circles around her eyes – unbefitting of a Princess.

And Flynn – she did not even want to describe or imagine what he might be feeling. His outer appearance, or the continuous diminishing of it – told her more than what she needed to know.

So under the pretence of acting tough, she ran away. She boarded the ship that Professor Sicily took exclusively to investigate the mana stones at its origin – Mount Temza. Prince Ioder had given them full right to enter and investigate all towns, cities, caves, nooks and crannies under the Imperial jurisdiction. After all, if anything could temporarily distract her off other things, this would be it - anything remotely Blastia-related. The mana stones she had in her possession was as good research material as any scholar could hope for. The Knights and Union members had too many of them to serve as evidence, they spared her and the Professor a few.

After documenting what she needed from Mount Temza, she and Sicily parted ways. She was dropped off at Nordopolica, while the old genius went on his way to Tarqaron. She would want to go north as well, but not before she stopped by Zaude just to have a look. It brought back memories to her – memories that she would cling her hopes on. After all, that was the place where Yuri supposedly died, but miraculously managed to return to their sides after.

She rubbed her eyes and let out a long sigh. She wanted to go to _Phaeroh's craig_ to look for Yuri, but she could not fly. Her latest invention, which she had strapped on her back that allow her to hover off ground temporarily, was not powerful enough to boost her beyond a few feet. The flexible steel frames on the device had leather covering, serving as wings. She found out that with a few tweaks to the mana stone and incorporated it to the energy source made it able to fly higher. But the craig was still beyond its capacity.

She cursed herself for that. Of course, Judith would have visited the place; at least she could take comfort in that fact. The Krityan had Ba'ul who could easily access the structure. If Rita had stayed at Zaphias, she would have been able to find out if Judith's search bore any result.

But she had to be content to exploring closer to the ground – _or _sea for that matter. She easily got on board of one of the Imperial ships at Nordopolica and with the official letter Ioder gave her & Sicily, she gained full authority of the ship to suit her cause.

Stopping by Dahngrest now seemed like a very good plan. She was tired and she could grab a few equipments from Brave Vesperia's vault - tools and materials to maintain her devices. The Union city was always a good place to exchange information as well. Perhaps she would be able to hear any clue of Duke's whereabouts.

* * *

"Darn it, Yuri," The Krityan darted a forlorn expression – clearly crestfallen – around the empty flower field,

"You could have waited…. ."

Yormgen was the usual quiet and peaceful small town – embraced in the eternal spring Phaeroh had envisioned in his vivid hallucination. Occasional bird chirping was heard, and small squirrels popped their heads amidst the bushes – seemingly curious with the new company.

Sodia frowned and subconsciously walked towards one – that soon made a hasty retreat into the safety of a mass of thorny small plants.

After all, hallucination or not, this town looked very much real to her.

And taking her mind off the depressing atmosphere her companions seemed to emanate was clearly a much more comfortable choice.

Mindlessly straightening her red tunic, she tried to lighten up the mood and walked over to the Princess – who was sitting with her head down,

"Princess, Miss Judith here," she paused and gestured towards Judith, "clearly said she had met Lowell. At least that means he's alive and well. You should not be worried."

When Estellise lifted her head, Sodia grimaced inwardly.

To say that the Princess was depressed was an understatement.

She was almost hollow – apart from the weak smile of gratitude she gave Sodia – her face was pale and her eyes bleary. It was apparent that Estellise had pinned all her hopes in – _finally_ – finding Yuri Lowell again.

Sodia could not care less about Lowell – she still had a hard time understanding why everyone had been bending over backwards to know about the welfare of the elusive criminal, even if he had helped the Empire in some ways or another.

Even the one person he respected the most – Commandant Flynn Scifo –

The blond commandant – upon arriving and after pretty much searched every corner of the town, and finding out that it was deserted – had separated himself from the group and kept to himself, wandering around the empty houses and finally settled himself at the inn. The women knew better than to do a futile attempt in lifting his spirit.

She clenched her fists into a tight ball – her nails cut into her own skin as the events that she did not even want to recall willingly began to slowly play again in her mind –

When the Commandant locked lips – or _kissed_ – at least that's what it looked like to her – the dark-haired criminal.

She realised that maybe the real reason she wanted to tag along was not merely to keep an eye on the Commandant. Maybe she just wanted a closure for herself – that she had not _really_ seen what she had seen at Zaphias.

That, Flynn Scifo – one man she held high above all others – would be able to get by without the criminal he constantly called his best friend. That he would be the perfect Knight and leader once more.

But she could feel that it would be a false hope to her – she had seen how significant Yuri was to Flynn. How he was so out of it when the black-haired swordsman was lost at the top of Zaude, toppled over the edge and stabbed by herself. How the Commandant's face was suddenly drained of color – not from the wound he received from protecting Yuri from Alexei – but from the news that she somehow managed to speak out. How she regretted it for days and weeks after, when that color did not seem to return to him – until finally Yuri Lowell was back from the supposedly dead.

She did not have time to recollect the memories further when suddenly an unmistakable distinguished sound of metal clanking was heard from the direction of the inn. From years of experience being involved in Knighthood and battlefield, Sodia knew that the unpleasant screeching sound would have come from two steel weapons grinded against each other, in full force.

Unsheathing her own sword from her belt, she ran towards the inn. From the corner of her eyes, she saw figures of Judith and Estellise followed suit in a hasty dash.

As they closed in, she readily put on her stance - a man with wild auburn hair was hovering on the grassy patch outside the inn. Occasionally, he effortlessly blocked the incoming attacks from Flynn.

Sodia remembered this was the very same man they came across in Relewiese Hollow, when they encountered Tison at the dried up Aer Krene. The _traitor to heaven_ – she recalled, as the young Brave Vesperia boss called him back then. The man – not looking older than in his thirties – emanated blue lights from his back. And whatever arte he was using, it made him floating on air, though not much higher than a few centimetres of the ground.

What really caught her attention, though, was how Flynn was more alive than she had ever seen him for weeks. She was grateful – but pained at all the same time. She knew the only reason the blond man regained his vigour was due to the knowledge that the auburn haired stranger was bound to have some news about Yuri Lowell. After all, Flynn saw Yuri was taken away by the very same man.

The stranger was suddenly surrounded by a large seal of light, whilst he drew the Aer from around him – dense and as white as Sodia could see. The air was thick with pressure and vibration emanated from him.

The seal of light turned into a type of incantation glyph, one that she had never seen before in her long career of knighthood.

Flynn put pressure on his heels, ready to charge forward again.

"_Struggle to resist against this…. Shini- …_,"

"Kratos!"

The light was gone and the Aer around him slowly dissipated. Sodia suddenly noticed another man's presence behind the stranger – long white hair swayed gently by the still dispersing Aer.

* * *

"Duke," Judith acknowledged the Great Hero of War and nodded slightly. She raised one hand and gestured at Flynn, prompting him to lower his sword.

He finally relaxed his stance, though his eyes were still wary on the two men.

She knew that given more time and if Duke had not put a stop to their confrontation, the auburn-haired man would eventually bring Flynn to his knees. Even when he started casting his arte and when the glyph was fully formed, she knew that the blonde young man was not a match to him.

He was probably on par with Duke, if not more powerful.

As a Krityan, she was more susceptible to noticing the quality of Aer around her. When Yuri went insane due to the mana stone, she noticed the density of Aer surrounding the swordsman – similar thickness to what she had just witnessed when Duke's companion started his arte.

It was actually also similar to Duke's artes as well.

"Halt!" Flynn tightened his grip on his sword hilt, upon noticing Duke and Kratos beckoning slowly away from them.

"There is nothing you can do, foolish human," Duke spoke calmly, his eyes void of emotion.

Judith stepped forward and took her place between the blonde Knight and Duke.

"I did not really get to hear the full story back then," she started, "and it seems that the _human you have taken interest in_ – " she put emphasis in her tone for this statement, " – is not here anymore."

Duke stopped for a second, his head turning slightly to look at her, before resume walking away from them – towards the port by the mayor's house. Kratos gestured her to follow suit, and Judith knew she was going to get some answers.

-tbc

* * *

**I am guilty of almost abandoning my fic. Scold me! *_nods profusely_***

**This chapter is somewhat a short and boring one - it was actually supposed to be longer, but it kinda clash with the next filler arc, so I separated them. Will post the rest a.s.a.p.**

**Since I edited this in mad dash, please forgive me for any errors I have left out accidentally. On that note, i edited the previous chapters, too, since somehow, most of them were missing the line breaks that were supposed to be there. Hmmm... **


	19. Side Arc 3 Resolution

"Ah, crap!"

Yuri scratched the back of his head and stared blankly at the vast desert – though it was impossible for him to see the sandy bottom way below the top of the craig he was at. The tall stone structure that used to serve as Phaeroh's lair was of course way off ground; and unless Yuri could suddenly fly – or able to jump from such height without breaking any bone, he would not be going anywhere.

Yuri pondered a bit at his other option on which he had been contemplating for quite a while now. He rested his back against a stony pillar, arms crossed, his brows tightly knitted together - an expression he did not like doing at all. He did not like his other option that much, but there was no way getting off this craig by his own accord.

And Judith could be there any time soon. Worse, she might come with the others, and perhaps even with a certain blonde friend Yuri did not wish to face right then – or _ever_ in his condition.

Meaning he had to swallow his pride and somehow asked for Duke's help.

Surely the ancient war hero knew a trick or two. After all, he had the knack of being able to appear in strange places – places that Yuri and the others had to strain their effort to reach.

He let out an exasperated grunt and headed towards the portal. The moment the view around him shifted to the familiar serene surrounding of the illusion town, somehow he was not too surprised to see Duke and his auburn haired companion standing on the porch of the closest house to the entrance – their ever watchful eyes on him.

It was as if they were expecting him to come back. Remembering their last proposition to him though, Yuri played again and again in his mind the best way to ask for their help to somehow get off the craig – without offending them with another rejection should they still wanted his companionship. He was not in his best shape and the Dein Nomos felt so strange in his hands - he was so used to the Abyssion. He wanted to get off the craig with his life intact - not as a corpse - and he was more than sure the two men could turn him to the latter.

_How do you get to Yormgen without the help of a flying ship – or Entelexia_ – Ba'ul's image appeared in Yuri's mind. _Your companion seems to have the ability to fly_ – Yuri recalled seeing the wing form on his back earlier – _perhaps he can lend me a ha- I mean, a wing or two? _That was not polite even to Yuri's standard, and he was not all too fuss about nice words either.

"So, uh...," he started, feeling a bit embarrassed albeit himself. Barely a few minutes ago, he was acting all mighty to set off on his own, "How do I get to the ground?"

He tried to sound as casual as possible, but irritation soon grew stronger in him when he looked at the two men – still expressionless.

Imagine travelling together with them. _Three stone faces roaming Terca Lumireis_.

Seconds or minutes lapsed in silence, but felt like an eternity to Yuri - there was no sense of time in Yormgen and he was unable to tell how long he had actually been there, just doing nothing; this fact irritated him all the more since he needed to get off the craig fast if he wanted to avoid Judith and probably the whole barrack of Brave Vesperia.

"It's true that it's best if you stay in solitude," the auburn haired man finally started.

"Kratos!" Duke silently mouthed, however loud enough for Yuri to hear - finally, a name to a face, "We should stay out of human's business."

"He cannot be considered a human anymore, though," Kratos argued - though more to himself than addressing Duke -,"Isn't that why your interest in him grew stronger?"

Duke's crimson eyes reflected the soft sunlight, and Yuri could not help but feel that the War Hero clearly did not really belong to Terca Lumireis. Or even Kratos, for that matter. The two men had an aura that distinguish them from normal people.

But what was all the talk about them being interested in him and, that last bit - him not _really_ being a human?

Duke let out a soft silent sigh and steadily stepped down the stairs. He stepped lightly off the last wooden plank, and though his eyes burnt deep into Yuri's own coal ones, Yuri had a suspicion that those crimson globes merely stared right through him, as if he was addressing someone else not visible.

"The _Abyssion_... all the Fell Arms... are not designed to be used as mere weapons..."

Another pause,

"They are ancient tools... _'devices'_ used to maintain balance of mana,"

Another pause - Yuri resisted the urge to roll his eyes, the way Duke talked was very much like Estelle's - they could not seem to get to the point of the matter. Nevertheless, he felt that it was equally important for him to keep listening.

"Much like the _Dein Nomos_," Duke nodded at the sword Yuri had casually slung against his shoulder, "though the way they should function... is to negate each other."

"The mana structure of Terca Lumireis is very much like my own world's," Kratos added, having also stepped off the porch and now leaning himself against the fence, "_Sylvarant_ had its own fair share of difficulties to maintain the balance, though finally it was restored by reviving an ancient tree,"

_Wha-, his world? huh? Sylvia? Tree? _Yuri's brain had taken in more than a lifetime of knowledge he ever needed by this moment._  
_

Kratos paused - his expression briefly showed that some distant memories returned to him, bitter smile faintly formed on his face - and Yuri withdrew his intention to voice out his own unpleasantries.

"Much like the _Eternal Sword_, Terca Lumireis seems to have its own ancient devices to support this balance."

"By exposing your inner mana to the Fell Arm for such a long time, you have a mana's characteristic much similar to the ancients, or even the Entelexias."

Yuri's mouth was wide opened, he was not quite sure if he should feel elated at the comparison to the ancient beasts. True, their powers were at a whole lot different level than normal humans - even humans with blastias.

"I'm sure you were aware of the gradual surge of strength you acquired... by using the Abyssion," Duke started again, "The Fell Arm synchronises with the aer around it... and absorb them for the user. As a result..., you have a lot more and the purest form of mana amongst the humans. It actually took a few days for the mana stone to poison you. Normal humans could only endure it for a few hours... before needing an additional source."

Yuri gritted his teeth and he could feel his wound on his left arm throbbed. _Mimula and the dry Aer Krenes... ._

"With an enormous supply of mana still within you, you can expect to live a whole lot longer than average humans," Kratos added, "Though your mana is already corrupted due to the continuous use of the Abyssion whilst in possession of the mana stone. The Dein Nomos will keep your mana in check, but you may experience a sudden burst of energy every once in a while... . I don't need to tell you what this means if it ever happens when you are around people. You ... are unstable."

Yuri felt a lump in his throat. His gaze fell on the ground, quietly observing the row of ants marching on the dirty parth.

"Right," Yuri finally managed to croak a hoarse voice - closer to a whisper, "So I shall be solitary for the rest of my life. Care to help me getting off this place?"

Duke and Kratos threw a short glance at each other. Yuri tried to compose his bottled emotions and threw them a challenging look, if not almost angry. He knew he should not be angry at them - after all, they were the one who saved him, and his friends from being killed by him. If just being slightly disturbed could make him this worked up, then they were right - he should not be with his friends _ever_.

- And Flynn... . Yuri closed his eyes at that last bit of thought that somehow shook his resolution the most.

Duke lifted his left hand towards Yuri direction. Kratos sighed,

"If you were with us, we could always watch and prevent you from going berserk again -"

A white light started to grow bigger around Duke's palm, gathering the Aer around him.

"- after all, we are probably the only ones strong enough to do it."

Yuri shrugged, his eyes still wary on Duke while his grip tightened around the Dein Nomos. Was he going to fight him?

"I will be fine by m-..."

A bright and soundless beam suddenly hit Yuri, blinded him and sent him flying back towards the space portal, and he cursed at himself for not being on guard enough to dodge the attack that threw him off -

In bright darkness - if there was ever such sensation - Yuri felt himself airborne for a few seconds. A fleeting thought came on to him that he might be falling to his death if that attack threw him off the craig. Slight panic and sense of powerlessness washed over him, then a sense of relief - he might not have to run away anymore, this must be a better way to end everything. He should have died that day anyway, in Flynn's hands - then as soon as the name came up, his blond best friend came across his mind - how he missed his smile...; but was stopped short as his back made full contact with softer than expected ground... .

As soon as Yuri had his sight back, he could just manage to see the familiar space distortion growing smaller and smaller a few metres in front of him, until it finally disappeared. Then he got a full view of his surrounding: vastless desert, dry and sandy air, bright merciless sun, endless sand underneath his sprawled body, a few tall pillars of Phaeroh's lair -

Yuri jumped at the thought. He quickly brushed off more sand from his shirt and shook his head to get them off his hair; then slowly walked towards the pillars, lifted his head and squinted his eyes, the sunlight obscured his attempt to see the top - he was indeed at the bottom of the lair. Duke must have temporarily changed the exit location of the portal - how he did it was beyond Yuri. Perhaps being good friends with the entelexias taught the Great War Hero a few things not normally being capable of being done.

Some screeching sound was heard from behind him. Yuri quickly turned around and pushed his back against the pillar, the Dein Nomos tightly held around his fingers and pointed towards - a group of _Cokatrices_ that suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. Their feathers brushed against their lizard like bodies and made unpleasant ruffling sound.

Yuri took a step forward and unleashed his _Azure Edge_ - and was suddenly greeted with a sharp stinging pain on his left arm. The arte managed to knock off a couple of the closest beasts though, and the rest of the group hesitated to charge at him; however the pain rendered him immobile, and it took all his strength and willpower to not let go of the sword altogether. He took a few deep breath and supported his body weight with the sword, the pain was still intense but gradually lessened. The already closed wound on his left arm throbbed and turned dark purple. Yuri did his best to not lose consciousness and realizing that another Cokatrice was just a few inches away - he grabbed the sword with his right hand and throw another _Azure Edge_ at it, but the rest of them steadily marched closer... .

"_Piercing Shot_!"

"_Air Light_!"

The fiery arte beamed through the beast, and a bright shot of greenish light stabbed through another. Two lithe figures made a swift quick coordinated sword dance; and with a few more of their artes, all of the monsters were disposed of. By the time Yuri could make out the faces of his saviors, a sharp blade was already at his neck.

"Yuri Lowell!" The first one snarled, her sword tip still coldly pressed against him, and from the sting he could feel on his neck, he knew it managed to draw a trickle of blood.

Of all the rotten luck - out of the cokatrices' claws, straight into the hands of -

"Gauche!" the other one called out, seemingly busy picking up the remains of the monsters they slaughtered earlier, "There are eleven intact cokatrice's claws I could find. The rest are too broken and won't have any value...," she straightened up herself and walked towards them, then when catching the sight of him, she was taken by surprise and dropped the loot in her hands onto the sand.

Now there were _two_ swords at his neck.

In spite of the predicament he was in, he was slightly bemused. The numbing pain on his arm was almost gone; and he was sure if needed to, he could at least get himself away from these two girls. If only he could just get free from the cold steel against his skin.

"Droite," the first girl addressed her sister, her own voice trembled with bitterness and spite, "We will be able to avenge Yeager today."

"You are right, Gauche," the green haired girl nodded giddily, "And he is alone, too... we should just -"

"Uh, I am sorry, ladies?," a man stepped into view, his voice hesitant but firm. He gathered the cokatrice's claws off the ground that Droite had dropped earlier, "We got what we came here for. We now have more than ample supply of claws for trade, and I would really appreciate it if we can move alo..." his eyes widened, "Aren't you Yuri Lowell from the guild Brave Vesperia?"

Yuri frowned at the man.

The stranger had a tanned complexion and of a slight build, not taller than himself. His head was covered with a protective cloth to avoid too much sun.

"And you are?" Yuri prompted. With any luck, the girls would lower their swords soon... .

"Oh, I am sorry," the man bowed, "My name is Han. I am of the Fortune Market guild. These two ladies are from the Mercenary guild..."

Yuri's eyebrows raised at Gauche, "Since when do you work for the Union?"

"I don't need to answer your questi...-"

"We have to get some money to keep the orphanage going since Yeager's death," Droite chirped in, "Being a mercenary pays the most."

"Droite!" Gauche scolded her sister, "Don't say unnecessary things!"

"Sorry..."

Han coughed suggestively, "Uhm, anyway, we have been travelling together, twelve of us in all," he pointed at a carriage a few hundred metres away. Some curious faces peeked out of the carriage, all of them seemingly members of the Fortune Market as well, "What great luck we have, running into one of the best mercenaries in the Union..." his eyes gleamed with excitement - nonchalantly unaware of the hostile gesture Droite and Gauche had against Yuri,

"We still have a fair bit to go and we have to pass Weasand of Cados as well, and it will be night in a few hours. It will be great if you can also lend us your strength to escort us to Nordopolica safely... ."

"WHAT!" The two girls' head turned in unison, looking at their customer as if he had grown an extra head. The brief distraction was just enough for Yuri to quickly land a few sharp jabs with the back of his hand at the girls' swords' hilt bases, knocking their swords off their grip. The girls squealed in surprise as Yuri took a quick step forward and caught the swords before they had the time to react.

"Give that back!" Droite pouted, more annoyed than angry - unlike her sister who was now trembling and barely contained herself to charge forward at him barehanded.

Yuri hold his hand up - his palm facing them outright - signalling them to stay put. He calmly walked towards Han. The merchants and the two girls must have been oblivious to the past events at Zaphias. They might have been at the desert on their monster hunting mission when Yuri made a ruckus at the capital - _almost_ killing Estelle, he clenched his jaw bitterly -, when the Union and the Empire were getting edgy again due to Mimula's crimes causing deaths of even some Fortune Market members... ,

"You are going to Nordopolica?"

"Yes. We can take care of ourselves from there onwards. We have a ship bound to Capua Torim docked at the port."

Yuri grinned. His way out of the desert turned out to be much easier than he had expected before - well apart from a few hiccups before.

"As for payment, you don't need to worry," Han shook a pouch attached to his belt, in which he had put the cokatrice's claws earlier, "Once we sell these at Nordopolica, we will have more than enough to reimburse you for your service..."

"Actually, you don't have to pay me," Yuri interrupted, "But, in return, I would like to also board your ship to Capua Torim."

From Capua Torim, there was a place due northwest he could go to. A place detached to Terca Lumireis - much like Yormgen - and unlikely to be found by people.

-tbc

* * *

**I cannot thank you enough for the kind reviews I have had so far. If you think they don't affect me continuing or spitting out the chapters faster, you are wrong. They certainly provide great motivation for me to keep doing this amidst daily work life. So thank you again :)**


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